Neighborhood alert mode for triggering multi-device recording, multi-camera motion tracking, and multi-camera event stitching for audio/video recording and communication devices

ABSTRACT

The present embodiments relate to improvements to audio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices, including improved approaches to using a neighborhood alert mode for triggering multi-device recording, to a multi-camera motion tracking process, and to a multi-camera event stitching process to create a series of “storyboard” images for activity taking place across the fields of view of multiple cameras, within a predetermined time period, for the A/V recording and communication devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.15/431,275, filed on Feb. 13, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,819,713, issuedon Nov. 14, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present embodiments relate to audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication devices, including A/V recording and communicationdoorbells, security cameras, and floodlight controllers. In particular,the present embodiments relate to improvements in the functionality ofA/V recording and communication devices that strengthen the ability ofsuch devices to reduce crime and enhance public safety.

BACKGROUND

Home security is a concern for many homeowners and renters. Thoseseeking to protect or monitor their homes often wish to have video andaudio communications with visitors, for example, those visiting anexternal door or entryway. Audio/Video (A/V) recording and communicationdevices, such as doorbells, provide this functionality, and can also aidin crime detection and prevention. For example, audio and/or videocaptured by an A/V recording and communication device can be uploaded tothe cloud and recorded on a remote server. Subsequent review of the A/Vfootage can aid law enforcement in capturing perpetrators of homeburglaries and other crimes. Further, the presence of one or more A/Vrecording and communication devices on the exterior of a home, such as adoorbell unit at the entrance to the home, acts as a powerful deterrentagainst would-be burglars.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments of the present approaches to using aneighborhood alert mode for triggering multi-device recording, to amulti-camera motion tracking process, and to a multi-camera eventstitching process to create a series of “storyboard” images for activitytaking place across the fields of view of multiple cameras, within apredetermined time period, for audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication devices have several features, no single one of which issolely responsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting thescope of the present embodiments as expressed by the claims that follow,their more prominent features now will be discussed briefly. Afterconsidering this discussion, and particularly after reading the sectionentitled “Detailed Description,” one will understand how the features ofthe present embodiments provide the advantages described herein.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that aperson and/or an object of interest is typically not stationary. Forexample, when an A/V recording and communication device records videofootage of suspicious and/or criminal activity, the suspect in the videofootage is likely to be moving. The sharing of such video footage mayalert neighbors to the potential dangers, particularly because thesuspect may still be in the vicinity (e.g., the neighborhood). It wouldbe advantageous then to enhance the functionality of A/V recording andcommunication devices by using shared video footage to identify one ormore cameras to power up and record additional video footage. Forexample, a neighborhood may include multiple camera devices such as (butnot limited to) first cameras and second cameras of various A/Vrecording and communication devices, and one or more of the secondcameras may be configured to power up and capture additional image data(and, in some embodiments, audio data) based on shared video footagefrom a first camera. Further, the functionality of A/V recording andcommunication devices may be enhanced by using any report of a crimefrom any source to power up one or more cameras to capture image and/oraudio data. Still further, the functionality of the A/V recording andcommunication devices can be enhanced so that, upon receipt of a“neighborhood alert” signal, the cameras of all such devices within aneighborhood (or another determined area) are powered up to captureadditional image data (and in some embodiments, audio data) that may beuseful for tracking a suspect's movements, recording the actions orpresence of accomplices, and/or recording other images that might warnresidents or help to solve a crime being perpetrated. Moreover, thepresent embodiments improve upon and solve the problem of resourcemanagement by using a power-up command signal to configure the one ormore cameras to switch from a low-power state to a powered-on state,thereby conserving power. The present embodiments provide theseadvantages, as described below.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that,at a single property, a user may install multiple A/V recording andcommunication devices, and may wish to have them communicatively linkedtogether so that, if one such device senses motion and records imagedata of a source of motion that is moving toward a second such device,the second device is alerted or activated to “track” the source of themotion from the field of view of the first device to the field of viewof the second device. In this way, the security of the property andresidents will be enhanced and a better recording of the source ofmotion may be available for use by the user and/or law enforcementauthorities.

Yet another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realizationthat, when users install multiple A/V recording and communicationdevices at a single property, and such devices each record image data ofa source of motion moving around the property, e.g., moving from thefield of view of a first camera and into the field of view of a secondcamera, the user may desire to view such image data as a linked orunified whole, rather than as separate images or separate image files orvideo clips. The present embodiments provide for “camera eventstitching” to create either a continuous video, or a series of“storyboard” images, for activity taking place across the fields of viewof multiple cameras, within a predetermined time period. This aspect ofthe present embodiments provides the advantages of user convenience inviewing recorded image data, as well as coherence in understanding thetiming and sequence of the recorded images.

In a first aspect, a method is provided for a neighborhood securitysystem, the neighborhood security system comprising a plurality ofcamera devices located within a neighborhood, and a backend processingsystem in network communication with the plurality of camera devices,where the backend processing system is in network communication with atleast a first client device, and where the first client device isassociated with a first one of the plurality of camera devices, themethod comprising receiving, at the backend system, a neighborhood alertmode signal from the first client device, transmitting, from the backendsystem to the plurality of camera devices, an activation signalincluding a command for each of the plurality of camera devices torecord image data for a predetermined amount of time and receiving, atthe backend system, the image data from each of the plurality of cameradevices.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the neighborhood comprises acircular area defined by a predetermined radius extending outwardly fromthe first camera device.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, at least some of theplurality of camera devices are owned by individual users.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises,prior to receiving the neighborhood alert mode signal from the firstclient device, receiving an opt-in signal from each of a plurality ofsecond client devices, where each of the second client devices isassociated with one of the plurality of camera devices other than thefirst camera device.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, at least some of theplurality of camera devices are owned by a group of users.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, at least some of theplurality of camera devices are located on public property.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, at least some of theplurality of camera devices are owned by a neighborhood organization.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, at least some of theplurality of camera devices are located on public property.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting a neighborhood alert warning signal to a plurality ofsecond client devices, wherein each of the second client devices isassociated with one of the plurality of camera devices other than thefirst camera device.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprisesanalyzing the received image data to identify any threats posed to theneighborhood.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, analyzing the received imagedata comprises using computer vision analysis at the backend system.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, analyzing the received imagedata comprises determining whether any identified threats are movingwithin the neighborhood.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, when it is determined that anidentified threat is moving within the neighborhood, determining alocation and a direction of movement for the threat.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting to law enforcement an identification of the threat, thelocation of the threat, and the direction of movement of the threat.

In a second aspect, a method is provided for a video security systeminstalled at a property, the video security system comprising a firstcamera installed at a first location at the property and a second camerainstalled at a second location at the property, where the video securitysystem is associated with a client device, the method comprisingreceiving first image data from the first camera of a first source ofmotion that is within a field of view of the first camera, where thefirst image data is associated with a first time stamp indicating thetime when the first image data was recorded, receiving second image datafrom the second camera of a second source of motion that is within afield of view of the second camera, where the second image data isassociated with a second time stamp indicating the time when the secondimage data was recorded, determining whether the second time stamp iswithin a predetermined amount of time after the first time stamp, whenthe second time stamp is within the predetermined amount of time afterthe first time stamp, creating composite image data comprising the firstimage data followed by the second image data and transmitting thecomposite image data to the client device.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the predetermined amount of timeis three minutes.

In another embodiment of the second aspect the predetermined amount oftime depends on a distance between the first camera and the secondcamera.

In another embodiment of the second aspect the predetermined amount oftime increases when the distance between the first camera and the secondcamera increases, and wherein the predetermined amount of time decreaseswhen the distance between the first camera and the second cameradecreases.

In another embodiment of the second aspect the first image data and thesecond image data are received at a backend system in networkcommunication with the first camera and the second camera.

In another embodiment of the second aspect the first image data and thesecond image data are received at a smart home hub located at theproperty and in network communication with the first camera and thesecond camera.

In a third aspect, a method is provided for a video security systeminstalled at a property, the video security system comprising a firstsecurity device having a first camera installed at a first location atthe property and a second security device having a second camerainstalled at a second location at the property, the method comprisingreceiving first image data from the first camera of a source of motionthat is within a field of view of the first camera, analyzing the firstimage data to determine whether the source of motion is moving towardthe second camera installed at the second location and upon determiningthat the source of motion is moving toward the second camera installedat the second location, sending a recording activation signal to thesecond camera, where, upon receiving the recording activation signal,the second camera begins recording second image data.

In an embodiment of the third aspect the video security system isassociated with a client device.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device that the first securitydevice has been installed at the first location.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device of a direction oforientation for the first camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device that the second securitydevice has been installed at the second location.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device of a direction oforientation for the second camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the first image data isreceived by, and analyzed by, a processor of the first security device.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the first security devicesends the recording activation signal to the second camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the first image data isreceived by, and analyzed by, a processor of a smart home hub in networkcommunication with the first security device.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the smart home hub sends therecording activation signal to the second camera.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the first image data isreceived by, and analyzed by, a processor of a backend server in networkcommunication with the first security device.

In another embodiment of the third aspect, the backend server sends therecording activation signal to the second camera.

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided for a video security systeminstalled at a property, the video security system comprising a videodoorbell having a video doorbell camera installed adjacent an entranceto the property, a first security device having a first camera installedat a first location at the property, and a second security device havinga second camera installed at a second location at the property, themethod comprising receiving video doorbell image data from the videodoorbell camera of a source of motion that is within a field of view ofthe video doorbell camera, analyzing the video doorbell image data todetermine whether the source of motion is moving toward the firstlocation or toward the second location and upon determining that thesource of motion is moving toward the first location, sending arecording activation signal to the first camera, or upon determiningthat the source of motion is moving toward the second location, sendinga recording activation signal to the second camera, where, uponreceiving the recording activation signal, the respective first cameraor second camera begins recording first image data or second image data,respectively.

In an embodiment of the fourth aspect, the video security system isassociated with a client device.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device that the first securitydevice has been installed at the first location.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device of a direction oforientation for the first camera.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device that the second securitydevice has been installed at the second location.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device of a direction oforientation for the second camera.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the video doorbell imagedata is received by, and analyzed by, a processor of the video doorbell.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the video doorbell sends therecording activation signal to the first camera or the second camera.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the video doorbell imagedata is received by, and analyzed by, a processor of a smart home hub innetwork communication with the video doorbell.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the smart home hub sends therecording activation signal to the first camera or the second camera.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the video doorbell imagedata is received by, and analyzed by, a processor of a backend server innetwork communication with the video doorbell.

In another embodiment of the fourth aspect, the backend server sends therecording activation signal to the first camera or the second camera.

In a fifth aspect, a method is provided for a backend system formonitoring a neighborhood security system, the neighborhood securitysystem comprising a plurality of camera devices located within aneighborhood, and wherein the backend system is in operativecommunication with each of the plurality of camera devices, wherein thebackend system is in operative communication with a plurality of clientdevices, and wherein each of the client devices is associated with atleast one of the plurality of cameras, the method comprising receiving,at the backend system, a neighborhood alert mode signal from a firstclient device, transmitting, from the backend system to the plurality ofcamera devices, an activation signal including a command for each of theplurality of camera devices to record image data for a predeterminedamount of time and receiving, at the backend system, the image data fromeach of the plurality of camera devices.

In an embodiment of the fifth aspect, the method further comprises,prior to receiving the neighborhood alert mode signal from the firstclient device, receiving an opt-in signal from each of a plurality ofsecond client devices, wherein each of the second client devices isassociated with one of the plurality of camera devices other than thefirst camera device.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting a neighborhood alert warning signal to a plurality ofsecond client devices, wherein each of the second client devices isassociated with one of the plurality of camera devices other than thefirst camera device.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, the method further comprisesanalyzing the received image data to identify any threats posed to theneighborhood.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, analyzing the received imagedata comprises using computer vision analysis at the backend system.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, analyzing the received imagedata comprises determining whether any identified threats are movingwithin the neighborhood.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, when it is determined that anidentified threat is moving within the neighborhood, determining alocation and a direction of movement for the threat.

In another embodiment of the fifth aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting to law enforcement an identification of the threat, thelocation of the threat, and the direction of movement of the threat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the present approaches to using aneighborhood alert mode for triggering multi-device recording, to amulti-camera motion tracking process, and to a multi-camera eventstitching process to create a continuous video or a series of“storyboard” images for activity taking place across the fields of viewof multiple cameras, within a predetermined time period for audio/video(A/V) recording and communication devices now will be discussed indetail with an emphasis on highlighting the advantageous features. Theseembodiments depict the novel and non-obvious neighborhood alert mode,motion tracking and camera event stitching for audio/video (A/V)recording and communication devices shown in the accompanying drawings,which are for illustrative purposes only. These drawings include thefollowing figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system for streamingand storing A/V content captured by an audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from an A/V recording and communication device according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front view of an A/V recording and communication doorbellaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the A/V recording and communication doorbell ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the components of the A/Vrecording and communication doorbell of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is an upper front perspective view of an A/V recording andcommunication security camera according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the components of the A/Vrecording and communication security camera of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the components of a floodlightcontroller with A/V recording and communication features according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an upper front perspective view of a floodlight controllerwith A/V recording and communication features according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of the floodlight controller with A/Vrecording and communication features of FIG. 9 in combination with afloodlight device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system for sharingvideo footage from audio/video recording and communication devicesaccording to the present embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a neighborhood with a plurality of A/Vrecording and communication doorbells according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 15-19 are screenshots of a graphical user interface (GUI)illustrating aspects of a process for sharing video footage from an A/Vrecording and communication device according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 20-24 are screenshots of a graphical user interface (GUI)illustrating aspects of another process for sharing video footage froman A/V recording and communication device according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 27-32 are screenshots of a graphical user interface (GUI)illustrating aspects of another process for sharing video footage froman A/V recording and communication device according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 36 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 38 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system for sharingvideo footage from A/V recording and communication devices according tothe present embodiments;

FIG. 39 is a functional block diagram of a client device on which thepresent embodiments may be implemented according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 40 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure;

FIG. 41 is a screenshot of a graphical user interface (GUI) illustratingaspects of another process for sharing video footage from an A/Vrecording and communication device according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 42 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 43 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of afirst A/V recording and communication device according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 44 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asecond camera according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 45 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asecond A/V recording and communication device according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 46 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of abackend device according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forpowering up one or more cameras according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 48 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process foridentifying one or more cameras to power up according to various aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 49 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forpowering up one or more cameras using a power-up command signalaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 50-51 are sequence diagrams illustrating embodiments of processesfor powering up one or more cameras using a share signal according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 52-53 are sequence diagrams illustrating embodiments of processesfor powering up one or more cameras using a crime report signalaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 54 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network using various devices according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 55 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a neighborhood securitysystem in which all cameras within a neighborhood are activated uponreceipt of a neighborhood alert mode signal, in accordance with certainaspects of the present embodiments;

FIG. 56 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a multi-camera videosecurity system installed at a property, by which recorded image datafrom multiple cameras is linked or stitched together to provide the userwith a chronological and continuous video of activity that occurredacross multiple cameras, or a chronological series of imagesrepresentative of activity that occurred across multiple cameras in a“storyboard” format, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentembodiments;

FIG. 57 illustrates an overhead view of a property, as shown on a screenof a user's client device, running a software app, in accordance withcertain aspects of the present embodiments;

FIGS. 58-65 illustrate example embodiments of the image data andcomposite image data generated by embodiments of the camera eventstitching process, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentembodiments; and

FIG. 66 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a multi-camera videosecurity system installed at a property, by which the system may recordimages of a source of motion, e.g., a person, and then anticipate thedirection of motion of the person, and thereby activate a second cameratoward which the person is moving, even before the person enters thefield of view of the second camera and/or before the motion of theperson is sensed by the motion sensor associated with the second camera,in accordance with certain aspects of the present embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes the present embodimentswith reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers labelelements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers arereproduced below in connection with the discussion of the correspondingdrawing features.

With reference to FIG. 1, the present embodiments include an audio/video(A/V) recording and communication device 100. While the presentdisclosure provides numerous examples of methods and systems includingA/V recording and communication doorbells, the present embodiments areequally applicable for A/V recording and communication devices otherthan doorbells. For example, the present embodiments may include one ormore A/V recording and communication security cameras instead of, or inaddition to, one or more A/V recording and communication doorbells. Anexample A/V recording and communication security camera may includesubstantially all of the structure and/or functionality of the doorbellsdescribed herein, but without the front button and related components.In another example, the present embodiments may include one or more A/Vrecording and communication floodlight controllers instead of, or inaddition to, one or more A/V recording and communication doorbells.

The A/V recording and communication device 100 may be located near theentrance to a structure (not shown), such as a dwelling, a business, astorage facility, etc. The A/V recording and communication device 100includes a camera 102, a microphone 104, and a speaker 106. The camera102 may comprise, for example, a high definition (HD) video camera, suchas one capable of capturing video images at an image display resolutionof 720p, or 1080p, or any other image display resolution. While notshown, the A/V recording and communication device 100 may also includeother hardware and/or components, such as a housing, a communicationmodule (which may facilitate wired and/or wireless communication withother devices), one or more motion sensors (and/or other types ofsensors), a button, etc. The A/V recording and communication device 100may further include similar componentry and/or functionality as thewireless communication doorbells described in US Patent ApplicationPublication Nos. 2015/0022620 (application Ser. No. 14/499,828) and2015/0022618 (application Ser. No. 14/334,922), both of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties as if fully setforth.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 100 communicates with a user's network 110, which may be forexample a wired and/or wireless network. If the user's network 110 iswireless, or includes a wireless component, the network 110 may be aWi-Fi network compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and/or otherwireless communication standard(s). The user's network 110 is connectedto another network 112, which may comprise, for example, the Internetand/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). As described below,the A/V recording and communication device 100 may communicate with theuser's client device 114 via the user's network 110 and the network 112(Internet/PSTN). The user's client device 114 may comprise, for example,a mobile telephone (may also be referred to as a cellular telephone),such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or anothercommunication device. The user's client device 114 comprises a display(not shown) and related components capable of displaying streamingand/or recorded video images. The user's client device 114 may alsocomprise a speaker and related components capable of broadcastingstreaming and/or recorded audio, and may also comprise a microphone.

The A/V recording and communication device 100 may also communicate, viathe user's network 110 and the network (Internet/PSTN) 112, with anetwork(s) 108 of servers and/or backend devices, such as (but notlimited to) one or more remote storage devices 116 (may be referred tointerchangeably as “cloud storage device(s)”), one or more backendservers 118, and one or more backend APIs 120. While FIG. 1 illustratesthe storage device 116, the server 118, and the backend API 120 ascomponents separate from the network (Internet/PSTN) 112, it is to beunderstood that the storage device 116, the server 118, and/or thebackend API 120 may be considered to be components of the network(Internet/PSTN) 112.

The network (Internet/PSTN) 112 may be any wireless network or any wirednetwork, or a combination thereof, configured to operatively couple theabove-mentioned modules, devices, and systems as shown in FIG. 1. Forexample, the network (Internet/PSTN) 112 may include one or more of thefollowing: a PSTN (public switched telephone network), the Internet, alocal intranet, a PAN (Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local AreaNetwork), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network),a virtual private network (VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a framerelay connection, an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, asynchronous optical network (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 orE3 line, a Digital Data Service (DDS) connection, a DSL (DigitalSubscriber Line) connection, an Ethernet connection, an ISDN (IntegratedServices Digital Network) line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34, orV.34bis analog modem connection, a cable modem, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)or CDDI (Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. Furthermore,communications may also include links to any of a variety of wirelessnetworks, including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication),LTE, VoLTE, LoRaWAN, LPWAN, RPMA, LTE Cat-“X” (e.g. LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat0, LTE CatM1, LTE Cat NB1), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA(Time Division Multiple Access), FDMA (Frequency Division MultipleAccess), and/or OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)cellular phone networks, GPS, CDPD (cellular digital packet data), RIM(Research in Motion, Limited) duplex paging network, Bluetooth radio, oran IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency network. The network can furtherinclude or interface with any one or more of the following: RS-232serial connection, IEEE-1394 (Firewire) connection, Fibre Channelconnection, IrDA (infrared) port, SCSI (Small Computer SystemsInterface) connection, USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, or otherwired or wireless, digital or analog, interface or connection, mesh orDigi® networking.

According to one or more aspects of the present embodiments, when aperson (may be referred to interchangeably as “visitor”) arrives at theA/V recording and communication device 100, the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 detects the visitor's presence and beginscapturing video images within a field of view of the camera 102. The A/Vcommunication device 100 may also capture audio through the microphone104. The A/V recording and communication device 100 may detect thevisitor's presence by detecting motion using the camera 102 and/or amotion sensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor has pressed a frontbutton of the A/V recording and communication device 100 (if the A/Vrecording and communication device 100 is a doorbell).

In response to the detection of the visitor, the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 sends an alert to the user's client device 114(FIG. 1) via the user's network 110 and the network (Internet/PSTN) 112.The A/V recording and communication device 100 also sends streamingvideo, and may also send streaming audio, to the user's client device114. If the user answers the alert, two-way audio communication may thenoccur between the visitor and the user through the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 and the user's client device 114. The user mayview the visitor throughout the duration of the call, but the visitorcannot see the user (unless the A/V recording and communication device100 includes a display, which it may in some embodiments).

The video images captured by the camera 102 of the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 (and the audio captured by the microphone 104)may be uploaded to the cloud and recorded on the remote storage device116 (FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the video and/or audio may berecorded on the remote storage device 116 even if the user chooses toignore the alert sent to his or her client device 114.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the system may further comprise abackend API 120 including one or more components. A backend API(application programming interface) may comprise, for example, a server(e.g. a real server, or a virtual machine, or a machine running in acloud infrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networkedtogether, exposing at least one API to client(s) accessing it. Theseservers may include components such as application servers (e.g.software servers), depending upon what other components are included,such as a caching layer, or database layers, or other components. Abackend API may, for example, comprise many such applications, each ofwhich communicate with one another using their public APIs. In someembodiments, the API backend may hold the bulk of the user data andoffer the user management capabilities, leaving the clients to have verylimited state.

The backend API 120 illustrated FIG. 1 may include one or more APIs. AnAPI is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software andapplications. An API expresses a software component in terms of itsoperations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types, definingfunctionalities that are independent of their respectiveimplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to varywithout compromising the interface. Advantageously, an API may provide aprogrammer with access to an application's functionality without theprogrammer needing to modify the application itself, or even understandhow the application works. An API may be for a web-based system, anoperating system, or a database system, and it provides facilities todevelop applications for that system using a given programming language.In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware like hard diskdrives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUIcomponents. For example, an API can facilitate integration of newfeatures into existing applications (a so-called “plug-in API”). An APIcan also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, whichcan help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of theapplications.

The backend API 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 may further include one ormore services (also referred to as network services). A network serviceis an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component running on one or more computers (such as a dedicatedserver computer offering multiple services) and accessed via a networkby client components running on other devices. However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from the A/V recording and communication device 100according to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B200,the A/V recording and communication device 100 detects the visitor'spresence and captures video images within a field of view of the camera102. The A/V recording and communication device 100 may also captureaudio through the microphone 104. As described above, the A/V recordingand communication device 100 may detect the visitor's presence bydetecting motion using the camera 102 and/or a motion sensor, and/or bydetecting that the visitor has pressed a front button of the A/Vrecording and communication device 100 (if the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 is a doorbell). Also as described above, thevideo recording/capture may begin when the visitor is detected, or maybegin earlier, as described below.

At block B202, a communication module of the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 sends a connection request, via the user'snetwork 110 and the network (Internet/PSTN) 112, to a device in thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 112. For example, the network device to whichthe request is sent may be a server such as the server 118. The server118 may comprise a computer program and/or a machine that waits forrequests from other machines or software (clients) and responds to them.A server typically processes data. One purpose of a server is to sharedata and/or hardware and/or software resources among clients. Thisarchitecture is called the client-server model. The clients may run onthe same computer or may connect to the server over a network. Examplesof computing servers include database servers, file servers, mailservers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and applicationservers. The term server may be construed broadly to include anycomputerized process that shares a resource to one or more clientprocesses. In another example, the network device to which the requestis sent may be an API such as the backend API 120, which is describedabove.

In response to the request, at block B204 the network device may connectthe A/V recording and communication device 100 to the user's clientdevice 114 through the user's network 110 and the network 112. At blockB206, the A/V recording and communication device 100 may recordavailable audio and/or video data using the camera 102, the microphone104, and/or any other device/sensor available. At block B208, the audioand/or video data is transmitted (streamed) from the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 to the user's client device 114 via the user'snetwork 110 and the network (Internet/PSTN) 112. At block B210, the usermay receive a notification on his or her client device 114 with a promptto either accept or deny the call.

At block B212, the process determines whether the user has accepted ordenied the call. If the user denies the notification, then the processadvances to block B214, where the audio and/or video data is recordedand stored at a cloud server. The session then ends at block B216 andthe connection between the A/V recording and communication device 100and the user's client device 114 is terminated. If, however, the useraccepts the notification, then at block B218 the user communicates withthe visitor through the user's client device 114 while audio and/orvideo data captured by the camera 102, the microphone 104, and/or otherdevices/sensors is streamed to the user's client device 114. At the endof the call, the user may terminate the connection between the user'sclient device 114 and the A/V recording and communication device 100 andthe session ends at block B216. In some embodiments, the audio and/orvideo data may be recorded and stored at a cloud server (block B214)even if the user accepts the notification and communicates with thevisitor through the user's client device 114.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate an audio/video (A/V) communication doorbell 130according to an aspect of present embodiments. FIG. 3 is a front view,FIG. 4 is a rear view, and FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of thecomponents within or in communication with the doorbell 130. Withreference to FIG. 3, the doorbell 130 includes a faceplate 135 mountedto a back plate 139 (FIG. 4). The faceplate 135 may comprise anysuitable material, including, without limitation, metals, such asbrushed aluminum or stainless steel, metal alloys, or plastics. Thefaceplate 135 protects the internal contents of the doorbell 130 andserves as an exterior front surface of the doorbell 130.

With reference to FIG. 3, the faceplate 135 includes a button 133 and alight pipe 136. The button 133 and the light pipe 136 may have variousprofiles that may or may not match the profile of the faceplate 135. Thelight pipe 136 may comprise any suitable material, including, withoutlimitation, transparent plastic, that is capable of allowing lightproduced within the doorbell 130 to pass through. The light may beproduced by one or more light-emitting components, such aslight-emitting diodes (LED's), contained within the doorbell 130, asfurther described below. The button 133 may make contact with a buttonactuator (not shown) located within the doorbell 130 when the button 133is pressed by a visitor. When pressed, the button 133 may trigger one ormore functions of the doorbell 130, as further described below.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the doorbell 130 further includes anenclosure 131 that engages the faceplate 135. In the illustratedembodiment, the enclosure 131 abuts an upper edge 135T of the faceplate135, but in alternative embodiments one or more gaps between theenclosure 131 and the faceplate 135 may facilitate the passage of soundand/or light through the doorbell 130. The enclosure 131 may compriseany suitable material, but in some embodiments the material of theenclosure 131 preferably permits infrared light to pass through frominside the doorbell 130 to the environment and vice versa. The doorbell130 further includes a lens 132. In some embodiments, the lens maycomprise a Fresnel lens, which may be patterned to deflect incominglight into one or more infrared sensors located within the doorbell 130.The doorbell 130 further includes a camera 134, which captures videodata when activated, as described below.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the doorbell 130, according to an aspect of thepresent embodiments. As illustrated, the enclosure 131 may extend fromthe front of the doorbell 130 around to the back thereof and may fitsnugly around a lip of the back plate 139. The back plate 139 maycomprise any suitable material, including, without limitation, metals,such as brushed aluminum or stainless steel, metal alloys, or plastics.The back plate 139 protects the internal contents of the doorbell 130and serves as an exterior rear surface of the doorbell 130. Thefaceplate 135 may extend from the front of the doorbell 130 and at leastpartially wrap around the back plate 139, thereby allowing a coupledconnection between the faceplate 135 and the back plate 139. The backplate 139 may have indentations in its structure to facilitate thecoupling.

With further reference to FIG. 4, spring contacts 140 may provide powerto the doorbell 130 when mated with other conductive contacts connectedto a power source. The spring contacts 140 may comprise any suitableconductive material, including, without limitation, copper, and may becapable of deflecting when contacted by an inward force, for example theinsertion of a mating element. The doorbell 130 further comprises aconnector 160, such as a micro-USB or other connector, whereby powerand/or data may be supplied to and from the components within thedoorbell 130. A reset button 159 may be located on the back plate 139,and may make contact with a button actuator (not shown) located withinthe doorbell 130 when the reset button 159 is pressed. When the resetbutton 159 is pressed, it may trigger one or more functions, asdescribed below.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the components within or incommunication with the doorbell 130, according to an aspect of thepresent embodiments. A bracket PCB 149 may comprise an accelerometer150, a barometer 151, a humidity sensor 152, and a temperature sensor153. The accelerometer 150 may be one or more sensors capable of sensingmotion and/or acceleration. The barometer 151 may be one or more sensorscapable of determining the atmospheric pressure of the surroundingenvironment in which the bracket PCB 149 may be located. The humiditysensor 152 may be one or more sensors capable of determining the amountof moisture present in the atmospheric environment in which the bracketPCB 149 may be located. The temperature sensor 153 may be one or moresensors capable of determining the temperature of the ambientenvironment in which the bracket PCB 149 may be located. The bracket PCB149 may be located outside the housing of the doorbell 130 so as toreduce interference from heat, pressure, moisture, and/or other stimuligenerated by the internal components of the doorbell 130.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the bracket PCB 149 may furthercomprise terminal screw inserts 154, which may be configured to receiveterminal screws (not shown) for transmitting power to electricalcontacts on a mounting bracket (not shown). The bracket PCB 149 may beelectrically and/or mechanically coupled to the power PCB 148 throughthe terminal screws, the terminal screw inserts 154, the spring contacts140, and the electrical contacts. The terminal screws may receiveelectrical wires located at the surface to which the doorbell 130 ismounted, such as the wall of a building, so that the doorbell canreceive electrical power from the building's electrical system. Upon theterminal screws being secured within the terminal screw inserts 154,power may be transferred to the bracket PCB 149, and to all of thecomponents associated therewith, including the electrical contacts. Theelectrical contacts may transfer electrical power to the power PCB 148by mating with the spring contacts 140.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the front PCB 146 may comprise a lightsensor 155, one or more light-emitting components, such as LED's 156,one or more speakers 157, and a microphone 158. The light sensor 155 maybe one or more sensors capable of detecting the level of ambient lightof the surrounding environment in which the doorbell 130 may be located.LED's 156 may be one or more light-emitting diodes capable of producingvisible light when supplied with power. The speakers 157 may be anyelectromechanical device capable of producing sound in response to anelectrical signal input. The microphone 158 may be anacoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor capable of converting soundwaves into an electrical signal. When activated, the LED's 156 mayilluminate the light pipe 136 (FIG. 3). The front PCB 146 and allcomponents thereof may be electrically coupled to the power PCB 148,thereby allowing data and/or power to be transferred to and from thepower PCB 148 and the front PCB 146.

The speakers 157 and the microphone 158 may be coupled to the cameraprocessor 170 through an audio CODEC 161. For example, the transfer ofdigital audio from the user's client device 114 and the speakers 157 andthe microphone 158 may be compressed and decompressed using the audioCODEC 161, coupled to the camera processor 170. Once compressed by audioCODEC 161, digital audio data may be sent through the communicationmodule 164 to the network 112, routed by the one or more servers 118,and delivered to the user's client device 114. When the user speaks,after being transferred through the network 112, digital audio data isdecompressed by audio CODEC 161 and emitted to the visitor via thespeakers 157.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the power PCB 148 may comprise a powermanagement module 162, a microcontroller 163 (may also be referred to as“processor,” “CPU,” or “controller”), the communication module 164, andpower PCB non-volatile memory 165. In certain embodiments, the powermanagement module 162 may comprise an integrated circuit capable ofarbitrating between multiple voltage rails, thereby selecting the sourceof power for the doorbell 130. The battery 166, the spring contacts 140,and/or the connector 160 may each provide power to the power managementmodule 162. The power management module 162 may have separate powerrails dedicated to the battery 166, the spring contacts 140, and theconnector 160. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the powermanagement module 162 may continuously draw power from the battery 166to power the doorbell 130, while at the same time routing power from thespring contacts 140 and/or the connector 160 to the battery 166, therebyallowing the battery 166 to maintain a substantially constant level ofcharge. Alternatively, the power management module 162 may continuouslydraw power from the spring contacts 140 and/or the connector 160 topower the doorbell 130, while only drawing from the battery 166 when thepower from the spring contacts 140 and/or the connector 160 is low orinsufficient. Still further, the battery 166 may comprise the solesource of power for the doorbell 130. In such embodiments, the springcontacts 140 may not be connected to a source of power. When the battery166 is depleted of its charge, it may be recharged, such as byconnecting a power source to the connector 160. The power managementmodule 162 may also serve as a conduit for data between the connector160 and the microcontroller 163.

With further reference to FIG. 5, in certain embodiments themicrocontroller 163 may comprise an integrated circuit including aprocessor core, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Themicrocontroller 163 may receive input signals, such as data and/orpower, from the PIR sensors 144, the bracket PCB 149, the powermanagement module 162, the light sensor 155, the microphone 158, and/orthe communication module 164, and may perform various functions asfurther described below. When the microcontroller 163 is triggered bythe PR sensors 144, the microcontroller 163 may be triggered to performone or more functions. When the light sensor 155 detects a low level ofambient light, the light sensor 155 may trigger the microcontroller 163to enable “night vision,” as further described below. Themicrocontroller 163 may also act as a conduit for data communicatedbetween various components and the communication module 164.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the communication module 164 maycomprise an integrated circuit including a processor core, memory, andprogrammable input/output peripherals. The communication module 164 mayalso be configured to transmit data wirelessly to a remote networkdevice, and may include one or more transceivers (not shown). Thewireless communication may comprise one or more wireless networks, suchas, without limitation, Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and/or satellitenetworks. The communication module 164 may receive inputs, such as powerand/or data, from the camera PCB 147, the microcontroller 163, thebutton 133, the reset button 159, and/or the power PCB non-volatilememory 165. When the button 133 is pressed, the communication module 164may be triggered to perform one or more functions. When the reset button159 is pressed, the communication module 164 may be triggered to eraseany data stored at the power PCB non-volatile memory 165 and/or at thecamera PCB memory 169. The communication module 164 may also act as aconduit for data communicated between various components and themicrocontroller 163. The power PCB non-volatile memory 165 may compriseflash memory configured to store and/or transmit data. For example, incertain embodiments the power PCB non-volatile memory 165 may compriseserial peripheral interface (SPI) flash memory.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the camera PCB 147 may comprisecomponents that facilitate the operation of the camera 134 (FIG. 3). Forexample, an imager 171 may comprise a video recording sensor and/or acamera chip. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the imager 171 maycomprise a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array, and maybe capable of recording high definition (e.g., 720p, 1080p, etc.) videofiles. A camera processor 170 may comprise an encoding and compressionchip. In some embodiments, the camera processor 170 may comprise abridge processor. The camera processor 170 may process video recorded bythe imager 171 and audio recorded by the microphone 158, and maytransform this data into a form suitable for wireless transfer by thecommunication module 164 to a network. The camera PCB memory 169 maycomprise volatile memory that may be used when data is being buffered orencoded by the camera processor 170. For example, in certain embodimentsthe camera PCB memory 169 may comprise synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (SD RAM). IR LED's 168 may comprise light-emitting diodes capableof radiating infrared light. IR cut filter 167 may comprise a systemthat, when triggered, configures the imager 171 to see primarilyinfrared light as opposed to visible light. When the light sensor 155detects a low level of ambient light (which may comprise a level thatimpedes the performance of the imager 171 in the visible spectrum), theIR LED's 168 may shine infrared light through the doorbell 130 enclosureout to the environment, and the IR cut filter 167 may enable the imager171 to see this infrared light as it is reflected or refracted off ofobjects within the field of view of the doorbell. This process mayprovide the doorbell 130 with the “night vision” function mentionedabove.

As discussed above, the present disclosure provides numerous examples ofmethods and systems including A/V recording and communication doorbells,but the present embodiments are equally applicable for A/V recording andcommunication devices other than doorbells. For example, the presentembodiments may include one or more A/V recording and communicationsecurity cameras instead of, or in addition to, one or more A/Vrecording and communication doorbells. An example A/V recording andcommunication security camera may include substantially all of thestructure and functionality of the doorbell 130, but without the frontbutton 133 and its associated components. An example A/V recording andcommunication security camera may further omit other components, suchas, for example, the bracket PCB 149 and its associated components.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate an example A/V recording and communicationsecurity camera according to various aspects of the present embodiments.With reference to FIG. 6, the security camera 330, similar to the videodoorbell 130, includes a faceplate 135 that is mounted to a back plate139 and an enclosure 131 that engages the faceplate 135. Collectively,the faceplate 135, the back plate 139, and the enclosure 131 form ahousing that contains and protects the inner components of the securitycamera 330. However, unlike the video doorbell 130, the security camera330 does not include any front button 133 for activating the doorbell.The faceplate 135 may comprise any suitable material, including, withoutlimitation, metals, such as brushed aluminum or stainless steel, metalalloys, or plastics. The faceplate 135 protects the internal contents ofthe security camera 330 and serves as an exterior front surface of thesecurity camera 330.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, the enclosure 131 engages thefaceplate 135 and abuts an upper edge 135T of the faceplate 135. Asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 3, in alternative embodiments,one or more gaps between the enclosure 131 and the faceplate 135 mayfacilitate the passage of sound and/or light through the security camera330. The enclosure 131 may comprise any suitable material, but in someembodiments the material of the enclosure 131 preferably permitsinfrared light to pass through from inside the security camera 330 tothe environment and vice versa. The security camera 330 further includesa lens 132. Again, similar to the video doorbell 130, in someembodiments, the lens may comprise a Fresnel lens, which may bepatterned to deflect incoming light into one or more infrared sensorslocated within the security camera 330. The security camera 330 furtherincludes a camera 134, which captures video data when activated, asdescribed above and below.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the enclosure 131 may extend from thefront of the security camera 330 around to the back thereof and may fitsnugly around a lip (not shown) of the back plate 139. The back plate139 may comprise any suitable material, including, without limitation,metals, such as brushed aluminum or stainless steel, metal alloys, orplastics. The back plate 139 protects the internal contents of thesecurity camera 330 and serves as an exterior rear surface of thesecurity camera 330. The faceplate 135 may extend from the front of thesecurity camera 330 and at least partially wrap around the back plate139, thereby allowing a coupled connection between the faceplate 135 andthe back plate 139. The back plate 139 may have indentations (not shown)in its structure to facilitate the coupling.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, the security camera 330 furthercomprises a mounting apparatus 137. The mounting apparatus 137facilitates mounting the security camera 330 to a surface, such as aninterior or exterior wall of a building, such as a home or office. Thefaceplate 135 may extend from the bottom of the security camera 330 upto just below the camera 134, and connect to the back plate 139 asdescribed above. The lens 132 may extend and curl partially around theside of the security camera 330. The enclosure 131 may extend and curlaround the side and top of the security camera 330, and may be coupledto the back plate 139 as described above. The camera 134 may protrudefrom the enclosure 131, thereby giving it a wider field of view. Themounting apparatus 137 may couple with the back plate 139, therebycreating an assembly including the security camera 330 and the mountingapparatus 137. The couplings described in this paragraph, and elsewhere,may be secured by, for example and without limitation, screws,interference fittings, adhesives, or other fasteners. Interferencefittings may refer to a type of connection where a material relies onpressure and/or gravity coupled with the material's physical strength tosupport a connection to a different element.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the components of the A/Vrecording and communication security camera of FIG. 6. With reference toFIG. 7, the interior of the wireless security camera 130 comprises aplurality of printed circuit boards, including a front PCB 146, a cameraPCB 147, and a power PCB 148, each of which is described below. Thecamera PCB 147 comprises various components that enable thefunctionality of the camera 134 of the security camera 130, as describedbelow. Infrared light-emitting components, such as infrared LED's 168,are coupled to the camera PCB 147 and may be triggered to activate whena light sensor detects a low level of ambient light. When activated, theinfrared LED's 168 may emit infrared light through the enclosure 131and/or the camera 134 out into the ambient environment. The camera 134,which may be configured to detect infrared light, may then capture thelight emitted by the infrared LED's 168 as it reflects off objectswithin the camera's 134 field of view, so that the security camera 130can clearly capture images at night (may be referred to as “nightvision”).

The front PCB 146 comprises various components that enable thefunctionality of the audio and light components, including a lightsensor 155, one or more speakers 157, and a microphone 158. The lightsensor 155 may be one or more sensors capable of detecting the level ofambient light of the surrounding environment in which the securitycamera 130 may be located. The speakers 157 may be any electromechanicaldevice capable of producing sound in response to an electrical signalinput. The microphone 158 may be an acoustic-to-electric transducer orsensor capable of converting sound waves into an electrical signal. Thefront PCB 146 and all components thereof may be electrically coupled tothe power PCB 148, thereby allowing data and/or power to be transferredto and from the power PCB 148 and the front PCB 146.

The speakers 157 and the microphone 158 may be coupled to a cameraprocessor 170 on the camera PCB 147 through an audio CODEC 161. Forexample, the transfer of digital audio from the user's client device 114and the speakers 157 and the microphone 158 may be compressed anddecompressed using the audio CODEC 161, coupled to the camera processor170. Once compressed by audio CODEC 161, digital audio data may be sentthrough the communication module 164 to the network (Internet/PSTN) 112,routed by one or more servers 118, and delivered to the user's clientdevice 114. When the user speaks, after being transferred through thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 112, digital audio data is decompressed by audioCODEC 161 and emitted to the visitor via the speakers 157.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the power PCB 148 comprises variouscomponents that enable the functionality of the power and device-controlcomponents, including a power management module 162, a processor 163, acommunication module 164, and power PCB non-volatile memory 165. Incertain embodiments, the power management module 162 may comprise anintegrated circuit capable of arbitrating between multiple voltagerails, thereby selecting the source of power for the security camera130. The battery 166 and/or the connector 160 may each provide power tothe power management module 162. The power management module 162 mayhave separate power rails dedicated to the battery 166 and the connector160. The power management module 162 may control charging of the battery166 when the connector 160 is connected to an external source of power,and may also serve as a conduit for data between the connector 160 andthe processor 163.

With further reference to FIG. 7, in certain embodiments the processor163 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processor core,memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. The processor 163 mayreceive input signals, such as data and/or power, from the PIR sensors144, the power management module 162, the light sensor 155, themicrophone 158, and/or the communication module 164, and may performvarious functions as further described below. When the processor 163 istriggered by the PIR sensors 144, the processor 163 may be triggered toperform one or more functions, such as initiating recording of videoimages via the camera 134. When the light sensor 155 detects a low levelof ambient light, the light sensor 155 may trigger the processor 163 toenable “night vision,” as further described below. The processor 163 mayalso act as a conduit for data communicated between various componentsand the communication module 164.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the security camera 130 furthercomprises a communication module 164 coupled to the power PCB 148. Thecommunication module 164 facilitates communication with devices in oneor more remote locations, as further described below. The communicationmodule 164 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processorcore, memory, and programmable input/output peripherals. Thecommunication module 164 may also be configured to transmit datawirelessly to a remote network device, such as the user's client device114, the remote storage device 116, and/or the remote server 118, andmay include one or more transceivers (not shown). The wirelesscommunication may comprise one or more wireless networks, such as,without limitation, Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and/or satellitenetworks. The communication module 164 may receive inputs, such as powerand/or data, from the camera PCB 147, the processor 163, the resetbutton 159, and/or the power PCB non-volatile memory 165. When the resetbutton 159 is pressed, the communication module 164 may be triggered toerase any data stored at the power PCB non-volatile memory 165 and/or atthe camera PCB memory 169. The communication module 164 may also act asa conduit for data communicated between various components and theprocessor 163. The power PCB non-volatile memory 165 may comprise flashmemory configured to store and/or transmit data. For example, in certainembodiments the power PCB non-volatile memory 165 may comprise serialperipheral interface (SPI) flash memory.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the power PCB 148 further comprisesthe connector 160 described above and a battery 166. The connector 160may protrude outward from the power PCB 148 and extend through a hole inthe back plate 139. The battery 166, which may be a rechargeablebattery, may provide power to the components of the security camera 130.

With continued reference to FIG. 7, the power PCB 148 further comprisespassive infrared (PIR) sensors 144, which may be secured on or within aPIR sensor holder (not shown) that resides behind the lens 132 (FIG. 6).The PIR sensors 144 may be any type of sensor capable of detecting andcommunicating the presence of a heat source within their field of view.Further, alternative embodiments may comprise one or more motion sensorseither in place of or in addition to the PIR sensors 144. The motionsensors may be configured to detect motion using any methodology, suchas a methodology that does not rely on detecting the presence of a heatsource within a field of view.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the camera PCB 147 may comprisecomponents that facilitate the operation of the camera 134. For example,an imager 171 may comprise a video recording sensor and/or a camerachip. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the imager 171 maycomprise a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) array, and maybe capable of recording high definition (e.g., 720p or better) videofiles. A camera processor 170 may comprise an encoding and compressionchip. In some embodiments, the camera processor 170 may comprise abridge processor. The camera processor 170 may process video recorded bythe imager 171 and audio recorded by the microphone 158, and maytransform this data into a form suitable for wireless transfer by thecommunication module 164 to a network. The camera PCB memory 169 maycomprise volatile memory that may be used when data is being buffered orencoded by the camera processor 170. For example, in certain embodimentsthe camera PCB memory 169 may comprise synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (SD RAM). IR LED's 168 may comprise light-emitting diodes capableof radiating infrared light. IR cut filter 167 may comprise a systemthat, when triggered, configures the imager 171 to see primarilyinfrared light as opposed to visible light. When the light sensor 155detects a low level of ambient light (which may comprise a level thatimpedes the performance of the imager 171 in the visible spectrum), theIR LED's 168 may shine infrared light through the security camera 130enclosure out to the environment, and the IR cut filter 167 may enablethe imager 171 to see this infrared light as it is reflected orrefracted off of objects within the field of view of the doorbell. Thisprocess may provide the security camera 130 with the “night vision”function mentioned above.

As discussed above, the present disclosure provides numerous examples ofmethods and systems including A/V recording and communication doorbells,but the present embodiments are equally applicable for A/V recording andcommunication devices other than doorbells. For example, the presentembodiments may include one or more A/V recording and communicationfloodlight controllers instead of, or in addition to, one or more A/Vrecording and communication doorbells. FIGS. 8-10 illustrate an exampleA/V recording and communication floodlight controller according tovarious aspects of the present embodiments. FIG. 8 is a functional blockdiagram illustrating various components of the floodlight controller 100and their relationships to one another. For example, the floodlightcontroller 100 comprises an AC/DC adapter 160. The floodlight controller100 is thus configured to be connected to a source of external AC(alternating-current) power, such as a household AC power supply (mayalso be referred to as AC mains). The AC power may have a voltage in therange of 110-220 VAC, for example. The incoming AC power may be receivedby the AC/DC adapter 160, which may convert the incoming AC power to DC(direct-current) and may step down the voltage from 110-220 VAC to alower output voltage of about 12 VDC and an output current of about 2 A,for example. In various embodiments, the output of the AC/DC adapter 160may be in a range of from about 9 V to about 15 V, for example, and in arange of from about 0.5 A to about 5 A, for example. These voltages andcurrents are only examples provided for illustration and are notlimiting in any way.

With further reference to FIG. 8, the floodlight controller 100 furthercomprises other components, including a processor 162 (may also bereferred to as a controller), a photosensor 164, an audio CODEC(coder-decoder) 166, the at least one speaker 108, the at least onemicrophone 106, at least one motion sensor 168, an infrared (IR) lightsource 170, an IR cut filter 172, an image sensor 174 (may be acomponent of the camera 104, and may be referred to interchangeably asthe camera 104), volatile memory 176, non-volatile memory 178, acommunication module 180, a button 182, a switch 184 for controlling oneor more floodlights, and a plurality of light indicators 186. Each ofthese components is described in detail below.

With further reference to FIG. 8, the processor 162 may perform dataprocessing and various other functions, as described below. Theprocessor 162 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processorcore, the volatile memory 176, the non-volatile memory 178, and/orprogrammable input/output peripherals (not shown). The volatile memory176 may comprise, for example, DDR3 SDRAM (double data rate type threesynchronous dynamic random-access memory). The non-volatile memory 178may comprise, for example, NAND flash memory. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8, the volatile memory 176 and the non-volatilememory 178 are illustrated outside the box representing the processor162. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 is, however, merely anexample, and in some embodiments the volatile memory 176 and/or thenon-volatile memory 178 may be physically incorporated with theprocessor 162, such as on the same chip. The volatile memory 176 and/orthe non-volatile memory 178, regardless of their physical location, maybe shared by one or more other components (in addition to the processor162) of the present floodlight controller 100.

With further reference to FIG. 8, the image sensor 174 (camera 104), theIR light source 170, the IR cut filter 172, and the photosensor 164 areall operatively coupled to the processor 162. As described in detailbelow, the IR light source 170 and the IR cut filter 172 facilitate“night vision” functionality of the camera 104. For example, thephotosensor 164 is configured to detect the level of ambient light aboutthe floodlight controller 100. The processor 162 uses the input from thephotosensor 164 to control the states of the IR light source 170 and theIR cut filter 172 to activate and deactivate night vision, as describedbelow. In some embodiments, the image sensor 174 may comprise a videorecording sensor or a camera chip. In some embodiments, the IR lightsource 170 may comprise one or more IR light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

With further reference to FIG. 8, the at least one speaker 108 and theat least one microphone 106 are operatively coupled to the audio CODEC166, which is operatively coupled to the processor 162. The transfer ofdigital audio between the user and a visitor (or intruder) may becompressed and decompressed using the audio CODEC 166, as describedbelow. The motion sensor(s) 168 is also operatively coupled to theprocessor 162. The motion sensor(s) 168 may comprise, for example,passive infrared (PIR) sensors, or any other type of sensor capable ofdetecting and communicating to the processor 162 the presence and/ormotion of an object within its field of view. When the processor 162 istriggered by the motion sensor(s) 168, the processor 162 may perform oneor more functions, as described below.

With further reference to FIG. 8, the communication module 180 isoperatively coupled to the processor 162. The communication module 180,which includes at least one antenna 188, is configured to handlecommunication links between the floodlight controller 100 and other,external devices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing dataappropriately. For example, inbound data from the antenna(s) 188 may berouted through the communication module 180 before being directed to theprocessor 162, and outbound data from the processor 162 may be routedthrough the communication module 180 before being directed to theantenna(s) 188. The communication module 180 may include one or moretransceiver modules capable of transmitting and receiving data, andusing, for example, one or more protocols and/or technologies, such asGSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95 (CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA,TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, or any otherprotocol and/or technology. In the illustrated embodiment, thecommunication module 180 includes a Wi-Fi chip 190 and a Bluetooth chip192, but these components are merely examples and are not limiting.Further, while the Wi-Fi chip 190 and the Bluetooth chip 192 areillustrated within the box representing the communication module 180,the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 is merely an example, and in someembodiments the Wi-Fi chip 190 and/or the Bluetooth chip 192 are notnecessarily physically incorporated with the communication module 180.

In some embodiments, the communication module 180 may further comprise awireless repeater (not shown, may also be referred to as a wirelessrange extender). The wireless repeater is configured to receive awireless signal from a wireless router (or another network device) inthe user's network 110 and rebroadcast the signal. Wireless devices thatare not within the broadcast range of the wireless router, or that onlyweakly receive the wireless signal from the wireless router, may receivethe rebroadcast signal from the wireless repeater of the communicationmodule 180, and may thus connect to the user's network 110 through thefloodlight controller 100. In some embodiments, the wireless repeatermay include one or more transceiver modules (not shown) capable oftransmitting and receiving data, and using, for example, one or moreprotocols and/or technologies, such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), WiMAX (IEEE802.16), or any other protocol and/or technology.

With further reference to FIG. 8, when a visitor (or intruder) who ispresent in the area about the floodlight controller 100 speaks, audiofrom the visitor (or intruder) is received by the microphone(s) 106 andcompressed by the audio CODEC 166. Digital audio data is then sentthrough the communication module 180 to the network 112 (FIG. 1) via theuser's network 110, routed by the server 118 and/or the API 120, anddelivered to the user's client device 114. When the user speaks, afterbeing transferred through the network 112, the user's network 110, andthe communication module 180, the digital audio data from the user isdecompressed by the audio CODEC 166 and emitted to the visitor throughthe speaker 108, which may be driven by a speaker 108 driver (notshown).

With further reference to FIG. 8, the button 182 is operatively coupledto the processor 162. The button 182 may have one or more functions,such as changing an operating mode of the floodlight controller 100and/or triggering a reset of the floodlight controller 100. For example,when the button 182 is pressed and released, it may cause thecommunication module 180 of the floodlight controller 100 to enteraccess point (AP) mode, which may facilitate connecting the floodlightcontroller 100 to the user's network 110. Alternatively, or in addition,when the button 182 is pressed and held down for at least a thresholdamount of time, it may trigger the erasing of any data stored at thevolatile memory 176 and/or at the non-volatile memory 178, and/or maytrigger a reboot of the processor 162.

With reference to FIG. 9, the floodlight controller 100 comprises ahousing 200 for containing and protecting the interior components of thefloodlight controller 100. The housing 200 includes a front wall 202, arear wall 204, opposing side walls 206, 208, an upper wall 210, and atapered lower portion 212. The front wall 202 includes a central opening214 that receives an upper shield 216 and a lower grill 218. In theillustrated embodiment, front surfaces of the upper shield 216 and thelower grill 218 are substantially flush with a front surface of thefront wall 202, but in alternative embodiments these surfaces may not beflush with one another. The upper shield 216 is substantiallyrectangular, and includes a semicircular indentation 220 along its loweredge 222. The lower grill 218 is substantially rectangular, and includesa semicircular indentation 224 along its upper edge 226. Together, thesemicircular indentations 220, 224 in the upper shield 216 and the lowergrill 218 form a circular opening 228 that accommodates a light pipe230. A cover 232 extends across and closes an outer open end of thelight pipe 230. The upper shield 216, the lower grill 218, the lightpipe 230, and the cover 232 are all described in further detail below.The camera (not shown) is located in the circular opening 228 formed bythe upper shield 216 and the lower grill 218, behind the cover 232, andis surrounded by the light pipe 230.

With reference to FIG. 8, the floodlight controller 100 furthercomprises the microphones 106. In the illustrated embodiment, a firstone 258 of the microphones 106 is located along the front of thefloodlight controller 100 behind the upper shield 216 (FIG. 9) and asecond one 260 of the microphones 106 is located along the left side ofthe floodlight controller 100 behind the left-side wall 208 (FIG. 9) ofthe housing 200. Including two microphones 258, 260 that are spaced fromone another and located on different sides of the floodlight controller100 provides the illustrated embodiment of the floodlight controller 100with advantageous noise cancelling and/or echo cancelling for cleareraudio. The illustrated embodiment is, however, just one example and isnot limiting. Alternative embodiments may only include one microphone104, or include two microphones 104 in different locations than asillustrated in FIG. 6.

With reference to FIG. 9, the upper shield 216 may include a firstmicrophone opening 262 located in front of the first microphone 258 tofacilitate the passage of sound through the upper shield 216 so thatsounds from the area about the floodlight controller 100 can reach thefirst microphone 258. The left-side wall 208 of the housing 200 mayinclude a second microphone opening (not shown) located in front of thesecond microphone 260 that facilitates the passage of sound through theleft-side wall 208 of the housing 200 so that sounds from the area aboutthe floodlight controller 100 can reach the second microphone 260.

With further reference to FIG. 9, the floodlight controller 100 mayfurther comprise a light barrier 272 surrounding inner and outersurfaces of the light pipe 230. The light barrier 272 may comprise asubstantially opaque material that prevents the light generated by thelight indicators 186 from bleeding into the interior spaces of thefloodlight controller 100 around the light pipe 230. The light barrier272 may comprise a resilient material, such as a plastic, which may alsoadvantageously provide moisture sealing at the junctures between thelight pipe 230 and the upper shield 216 and the lower grill 218.Portions of the light barrier 272 may also extend between the juncturesbetween the upper shield 216 and the lower grill 218.

With further reference to FIG. 9, the floodlight controller 100 furthercomprises connecting hardware 292 configured for connecting thefloodlight controller 100 to a floodlight device 294 (FIG. 10) and apower source (not shown). The floodlight controller 100 furthercomprises a plurality of wires 304 for connecting the floodlightcontroller 100 to the power supply and to the floodlight(s) 306 (FIG.10) of the floodlight device 294 (for enabling the floodlight controller100 to turn the floodlight(s) 306 on and off). In the illustratedembodiment, three wires 304 are shown, but the illustrated embodiment ismerely one example and is not limiting. In alternative embodiments, anynumber of wires 304 may be provided.

As described above, the present embodiments leverage the capabilities ofaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices, thereby providingenhanced functionality to such devices to reduce crime and increasepublic safety.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that aperson and/or an object of interest is typically not stationary. Forexample, when an A/V recording and communication device records videofootage of suspicious and/or criminal activity, the suspect in the videofootage is likely to be moving. The sharing of such video footage mayalert neighbors to the potential dangers, particularly because thesuspect may still be in the vicinity (e.g., the neighborhood). It wouldbe advantageous then to enhance the functionality of A/V recording andcommunication devices by using shared video footage to identify one ormore cameras to power up and record additional video footage. Forexample, a neighborhood may include multiple camera devices such as (butnot limited to) first cameras and second cameras of various A/Vrecording and communication devices, and one or more of the secondcameras may be configured to power up and capture additional image data(and, in some embodiments, audio data) based on shared video footagefrom a first camera. Further, the functionality of A/V recording andcommunication devices may be enhanced by using any report of a crimefrom any source to power up one or more cameras to capture image and/oraudio data. Still further, the functionality of the A/V recording andcommunication devices can be enhanced so that, upon receipt of a“neighborhood alert” signal, the cameras of all such devices within aneighborhood are powered up to capture additional image data (and insome embodiments, audio data) that may be useful for tracking a suspectsmovements, recording the actions or presence of accomplices, orrecording other images that might warn residents or help to late solve acrime being perpetrated. Moreover, the present embodiments improve uponand solve the problem of resource management by using a power-up commandsignal to configure the one or more cameras to switch from a low-powerstate to a powered-on state, thereby conserving power. The presentembodiments provide these advantages, as described below.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization that,at a single property, a user may install multiple A/V recording andcommunication devices, and may wish to have them linked together sothat, if one such device senses motion and records image data of asource of motion that is moving toward a second such device, the secondsuch device is alerted or activated to “track” the source of the motionfrom the field of view of first device to the field of view of thesecond device. In this way, the security of the property and residentswill be enhanced and a better recorded of the source of motion may beavailable for use by the user or law enforcement authorities.

Yet another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realizationthat, when users install multiple A/V recording and communicationdevices at a single property, and such devices each record image data ofa source of motion moving around the property, e.g., moving from thefield of view of a first camera and into the field of view of a secondcamera, the user may desire to view such image data as a linked orunified whole, rather than as separate images or separate image files.The present embodiments provide for “camera event stitching” to create aseries of “storyboard” images for activity taking place across thefields of view of multiple cameras, within a predetermined time period.This provides the advantages of user convenience in viewing recordedimage data, as well as coherence in understanding the timing andsequence of the recorded images.

Some of the present embodiments comprise computer vision for one or moreaspects, such as object recognition. Computer vision includes methodsfor acquiring, processing, analyzing, and understanding images and, ingeneral, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to producenumerical or symbolic information, e.g. in the form of decisions.Computer vision seeks to duplicate the abilities of human vision byelectronically perceiving and understanding an image. Understanding inthis context means the transformation of visual images (the input of theretina) into descriptions of the world that can interface with otherthought processes and elicit appropriate action. This imageunderstanding can be seen as the disentangling of symbolic informationfrom image data using models constructed with the aid of geometry,physics, statistics, and learning theory. Computer vision has also beendescribed as the enterprise of automating and integrating a wide rangeof processes and representations for vision perception. As a scientificdiscipline, computer vision is concerned with the theory behindartificial systems that extract information from images. The image datacan take many forms, such as video sequences, views from multiplecameras, or multi-dimensional data from a scanner. As a technologicaldiscipline, computer vision seeks to apply its theories and models forthe construction of computer vision systems.

One aspect of computer vision comprises determining whether or not theimage data contains some specific object, feature, or activity.Different varieties of computer vision recognition include: ObjectRecognition (also called object classification)—One or severalpre-specified or learned objects or object classes can be recognized,usually together with their 2D positions in the image or 3D poses in thescene. Identification—An individual instance of an object is recognized.Examples include identification of a specific person's face orfingerprint, identification of handwritten digits, or identification ofa specific vehicle. Detection—The image data are scanned for a specificcondition. Examples include detection of possible abnormal cells ortissues in medical images or detection of a vehicle in an automatic roadtoll system. Detection based on relatively simple and fast computationsis sometimes used for finding smaller regions of interesting image datathat can be further analyzed by more computationally demandingtechniques to produce a correct interpretation.

Several specialized tasks based on computer vision recognition exist,such as: Optical Character Recognition (OCR)—Identifying characters inimages of printed or handwritten text, usually with a view to encodingthe text in a format more amenable to editing or indexing (e.g. ASCII).2D Code Reading—Reading of 2D codes such as data matrix and QR codes.Facial Recognition. Shape Recognition Technology (SRT)—Differentiatinghuman beings (e.g. head and shoulder patterns) from objects.

Typical functions and components (e.g. hardware) found in many computervision systems are described in the following paragraphs. The presentembodiments may include at least some of these aspects. For example,with reference to FIG. 3, embodiments of the present A/V recording andcommunication device 130 may include a computer vision module 163. Thecomputer vision module 163 may include any of the components (e.g.hardware) and/or functionality described herein with respect to computervision, including, without limitation, one or more cameras, sensors,and/or processors. In some embodiments, the microphone 150, the camera154, and/or the imaging processor 240 may be components of the computervision module 163.

Image acquisition—A digital image is produced by one or several imagesensors, which, besides various types of light-sensitive cameras, mayinclude range sensors, tomography devices, radar, ultra-sonic cameras,etc. Depending on the type of sensor, the resulting image data may be a2D image, a 3D volume, or an image sequence. The pixel values maycorrespond to light intensity in one or several spectral bands (grayimages or color images), but can also be related to various physicalmeasures, such as depth, absorption or reflectance of sonic orelectromagnetic waves, or nuclear magnetic resonance.

Pre-processing—Before a computer vision method can be applied to imagedata in order to extract some specific piece of information, it isusually beneficial to process the data in order to assure that itsatisfies certain assumptions implied by the method. Examples ofpre-processing include, but are not limited to re-sampling in order toassure that the image coordinate system is correct, noise reduction inorder to assure that sensor noise does not introduce false information,contrast enhancement to assure that relevant information can bedetected, and scale space representation to enhance image structures atlocally appropriate scales.

Feature extraction—Image features at various levels of complexity areextracted from the image data. Typical examples of such features are:Lines, edges, and ridges; Localized interest points such as corners,blobs, or points; More complex features may be related to texture,shape, or motion.

Detection/segmentation—At some point in the processing a decision may bemade about which image points or regions of the image are relevant forfurther processing. Examples are: Selection of a specific set ofinterest points; Segmentation of one or multiple image regions thatcontain a specific object of interest; Segmentation of the image intonested scene architecture comprising foreground, object groups, singleobjects, or salient object parts (also referred to as spatial-taxonscene hierarchy).

High-level processing—At this step, the input may be a small set ofdata, for example a set of points or an image region that is assumed tocontain a specific object. The remaining processing may comprise, forexample: Verification that the data satisfy model-based andapplication-specific assumptions; Estimation of application-specificparameters, such as object pose or object size; Imagerecognition—classifying a detected object into different categories;Image registration—comparing and combining two different views of thesame object.

Decision making—Making the final decision required for the application,for example match/no-match in recognition applications.

One or more of the present embodiments may include a vision processingunit (not shown separately, but may be a component of the computervision module 163). A vision processing unit is an emerging class ofmicroprocessor; it is a specific type of AI (artificial intelligence)accelerator designed to accelerate machine vision tasks. Visionprocessing units are distinct from video processing units (which arespecialized for video encoding and decoding) in their suitability forrunning machine vision algorithms such as convolutional neural networks,SIFT, etc. Vision processing units may include direct interfaces to takedata from cameras (bypassing any off-chip buffers), and may have agreater emphasis on on-chip dataflow between many parallel executionunits with scratchpad memory, like a manycore DSP (digital signalprocessor). But, like video processing units, vision processing unitsmay have a focus on low precision fixed point arithmetic for imageprocessing.

Some of the present embodiments may use facial recognition hardwareand/or software, as a part of the computer vision system. Various typesof facial recognition exist, some or all of which may be used in thepresent embodiments.

Some face recognition algorithms identify facial features by extractinglandmarks, or features, from an image of the subject's face. Forexample, an algorithm may analyze the relative position, size, and/orshape of the eyes, nose, cheekbones, and jaw. These features are thenused to search for other images with matching features. Other algorithmsnormalize a gallery of face images and then compress the face data, onlysaving the data in the image that is useful for face recognition. Aprobe image is then compared with the face data. One of the earliestsuccessful systems is based on template matching techniques applied to aset of salient facial features, providing a sort of compressed facerepresentation.

Recognition algorithms can be divided into two main approaches,geometric, which looks at distinguishing features, or photometric, whichis a statistical approach that distills an image into values andcompares the values with templates to eliminate variances.

Popular recognition algorithms include principal component analysisusing eigenfaces, linear discriminant analysis, elastic bunch graphmatching using the Fisherface algorithm, the hidden Markov model, themultilinear subspace learning using tensor representation, and theneuronal motivated dynamic link matching.

Further, a newly emerging trend, claimed to achieve improved accuracy,is three-dimensional face recognition. This technique uses 3D sensors tocapture information about the shape of a face. This information is thenused to identify distinctive features on the surface of a face, such asthe contour of the eye sockets, nose, and chin.

One advantage of 3D face recognition is that it is not affected bychanges in lighting like other techniques. It can also identify a facefrom a range of viewing angles, including a profile view.Three-dimensional data points from a face vastly improve the precisionof face recognition. 3D research is enhanced by the development ofsophisticated sensors that do a better job of capturing 3D face imagery.The sensors work by projecting structured light onto the face. Up to adozen or more of these image sensors can be placed on the same CMOSchip—each sensor captures a different part of the spectrum.

Another variation is to capture a 3D picture by using three trackingcameras that point at different angles; one camera pointing at the frontof the subject, a second one to the side, and a third one at an angle.All these cameras work together to track a subject's face in real timeand be able to face detect and recognize.

Another emerging trend uses the visual details of the skin, as capturedin standard digital or scanned images. This technique, called skintexture analysis, turns the unique lines, patterns, and spots apparentin a person's skin into a mathematical space.

Another form of taking input data for face recognition is by usingthermal cameras, which may only detect the shape of the head and ignorethe subject accessories such as glasses, hats, or make up.

Further examples of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)and/or computer vision that can be used in the present embodiments toverify the identity and/or authorization of a person include, withoutlimitation, biometrics. Biometrics refers to metrics related to humancharacteristics. Biometrics authentication (or realistic authentication)is used in various forms of identification and access control. Biometricidentifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used tolabel and describe individuals. Biometric identifiers can bephysiological characteristics and/or behavioral characteristics.Physiological characteristics may be related to the shape of the body.Examples include, but are not limited to, fingerprints, palm veins,facial recognition, three-dimensional facial recognition, skin textureanalysis, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry, iris recognition, retinarecognition, and odor/scent recognition. Behavioral characteristics maybe related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including, but notlimited to, typing rhythm, gait, and voice recognition.

The present embodiments may use any one, or any combination of more thanone, of the foregoing biometrics to identify and/or authenticate aperson who is either suspicious or who is authorized to take certainactions with respect to a property or expensive item of collateral. Forexample, the computer vision module 163, and/or the camera 154 and/orthe processor 160 may receive information about the person using anyone, or any combination of more than one, of the foregoing biometrics.

FIG. 11 illustrates a system 500 for sharing video footage from A/Vrecording and communication devices according to the presentembodiments. The illustrated system 500 includes a first A/V recordingand communication doorbell 502 (labeled “A/V Doorbell #1”). The firstA/V doorbell 502 may have, for example, similar components and/orfunctionality as the doorbell 130 described herein. Alternatively, thefirst A/V doorbell 502 may have different components and/orfunctionality as the doorbell 130, but may nevertheless be capable ofrecording video footage and/or audio and wirelessly transmitting therecorded video footage and/or audio. In certain embodiments, the firstA/V doorbell 502 may not be a doorbell at all, but may be, for example,an A/V recording and communication security camera.

With further reference to FIG. 11, the system 500 further includes afirst client device 504 (labeled “Client Device #1”) associated with thefirst A/V doorbell 502. The first client device 504 and the first A/Vdoorbell 502 may be owned by and/or controlled by the same user. Thefirst client device 504 may have, for example, similar components and/orfunctionality as the user's client device 114 described herein, and maycomprise, for example, a mobile telephone (may also be referred to as acellular telephone), such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), or another communication and/or computing device. The system 500further includes a network 506. The network 506, which may comprise, forexample, the Internet and/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN)112, includes a plurality of network devices, such as one or moreservers, routers, switches, storage devices, etc. (not shown). Thesystem 500 further includes a plurality of other A/V doorbells 508, 510(labeled “A/V Doorbell #2” through “A/V Doorbell #N”) and a plurality ofother client devices 512, 514 (labeled “Client Device #2” through“Client Device #N”). The other client devices 512, 514 are eachassociated with a corresponding one of the other A/V doorbells 508, 510.The other A/V doorbells 508, 510 may have, for example, similarcomponents and/or functionality as the first A/V doorbell 502, and theother client devices 512, 514 may have, for example, similar componentsand/or functionality as the first client device 504.

In the system 500 of FIG. 11, any of the A/V doorbells may record videofootage from an area within a field of view of the respective doorbell.The owner (or a user) of the doorbell that has recorded video footagemay share the video footage with one or more other owners/users of theother A/V doorbells. The determination of which users will receive anotification of the shared video footage may be based on the relativelocations of the A/V doorbells associated with the different users. Moreparticularly, a given user (USER X) may receive a notification of theshared video footage if the shared video footage was recorded by one ofthe A/V doorbells that is located within a predetermined distance ofUSER X′s own A/V doorbell. Further, in certain embodiments thepredetermined distance may be configurable by USER X. Example processesfor such sharing of recorded video footage are described below withreference to FIGS. 12-14.

FIG. 12 illustrates a neighborhood 516 comprising a plurality ofbuildings 518, such as homes, offices, retail businesses, warehouses,etc. At least some of the buildings 518 include A/V recording andcommunication doorbells secured to an exterior surface, such as adjacentthe front door. For example, FIG. 12 illustrates three A/V doorbells(A/V Doorbell #1 520, A/V Doorbell #2 522, A/V Doorbell #3 524)associated with three different buildings. Each of the A/V doorbells520, 522, 524 has a defined area around it represented by the threeoverlapping circles (Area #1 526, Area #2 528, Area #3 530). Each circle526, 528, 530 represents the area from which the owner/user of the A/Vdoorbell at the center of the circle will receive notifications ofshared video footage recorded by other A/V doorbells within the area.

For example, if A/V Doorbell #1 520 records video footage and theowner/user of A/V Doorbell #1 520 shares the recorded video footage,then the owner/user of A/V Doorbell #3 524 will receive a notificationof the shared video footage because A/V Doorbell #1 520 is locatedwithin Area #3 530, but the owner/user of A/V Doorbell #2 522 will notreceive a notification of the shared video footage because A/V Doorbell#1 520 is located outside of Area #2 528. In another example, if A/VDoorbell #2 522 records video footage and the owner/user of A/V Doorbell#2 522 shares the recorded video footage, then the owners/users of A/VDoorbells 1 and 3 will both receive a notification of the shared videofootage because A/V Doorbell #2 522 is located within both Area #1 526and Area #3 530. In another example, if A/V Doorbell #3 524 recordsvideo footage and the owner/user of A/V Doorbell #3 524 shares therecorded video footage, then neither of the owners/users of A/VDoorbells 1 and 2 will receive a notification of the shared videofootage because A/V Doorbell #3 524 is located outside of both Area #1526 and Area #2 528. The determinations of which owners/users willreceive share notifications, and which owners/users will not receiveshare notifications, are summarized in the table at the bottom of FIG.12.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell (or other A/Vrecording and communication device) according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. An A/V doorbell 520 (A/V Doorbell #1, FIGS. 12 and13) may record video footage, which may also include audio. For example,the doorbell 520 may begin recording the video footage when a visitor isdetected at the doorbell 520, which may occur, for example, when thedoorbell 520 detects motion or when the visitor presses the front buttonon the doorbell 520. With further reference to FIG. 13, the doorbell 520sends a first alert signal and a first video signal 540 to the network542, and the network 542 receives the first alert signal and the firstvideo signal 540. The network 542 includes one or more network devices,such as, for example, one or more servers, routers, switches, storagedevices, etc. (not shown). At least some of the network devices includea processor and a memory. The first video signal includes images (thevideo footage) captured by a camera of the doorbell 520.

The network 542 transmits to a first client device 544 (User's ClientDevice #1), in response to receiving the first alert signal and thefirst video signal 540, a second alert signal and a second video signal546. The second alert signal may be, for example, a push notification. Apush notification, also called a server push notification, is thedelivery of information from a software application to a computingdevice without a specific request from the client. The second videosignal includes the images captured by the camera of the doorbell 520.The user associated with the first client device 544 may be theowner/user of the doorbell 520 (A/V Doorbell #1). The user, uponreceiving the second alert signal, may choose to answer the second alertsignal, which may, for example, open a live call between the user andthe visitor at the doorbell 520. Alternatively, the user may ignore thesecond alert signal (e.g. choose not to answer the call). If the userignores the second alert signal, he or she may still view the videofootage of the second video signal at a later time.

After viewing (or while viewing) the video footage on the display of hisor her client device 544, the user may decide to share the video footagewith other users. For example, the user may tap a “share” button fromwithin an application executing on his or her client device 544. Thefirst client device 544 then sends a share signal 548 to the network542, and the network 542 receives the share signal 548 from the firstclient device 544. In response to receiving the share signal 548 fromthe first client device 544, at least one of the network devices in thenetwork 542 determines the other users who are to receive a notificationof the shared video footage. For example, the network device(s) maydetermine that the doorbell 520 that recorded the shared video footageis within a predefined distance from at least one other A/V recordingand communication doorbell (or other A/V recording and communicationdevice) from among a plurality of other A/V recording and communicationdoorbells (or other A/V recording and communication devices). Forexample, with reference to FIG. 12, if the doorbell that recorded theshared video footage is A/V Doorbell #1 520, then the network device(s)may identify at least one other doorbell, such as A/V Doorbell #3 524,having a defined area (Area #3 530) around it that encompasses thelocation of the doorbell 520 that recorded the shared video footage.Once the other doorbell(s) has/have been identified, the networkdevice(s) may transmit a share notification signal 550 to each clientdevice associated with the other doorbell(s) identified (including atleast User's Client Device #3 552). The share notification signal 550may be, for example, a push notification. The other user(s), uponreceiving the share notification signal 550, may choose to view theshared video footage. Alternatively, the other user(s) may ignore theshare notification signal 550. If the other user(s) ignores the sharenotification signal 550, he or she may still view the shared videofootage at a later time.

The process described above with reference to FIG. 13 advantageouslyenables users of A/V recording and communication devices to share videofootage with one another. This feature can help reduce crime byincreasing public awareness of suspicious activity. For example, a firstuser may view video footage that was recorded by his or her doorbell anddetermine that the person or persons in the video footage are, or maybe, engaged in criminal activity. The first user may then share thatvideo footage with other users who, after viewing the shared videofootage, may be alerted to be on the lookout for the person or personsin the shared video footage and, if one or more such other users observethe person or persons in the shared video footage engaged in furthersuspicious activity, they may be more likely to report the person orpersons to law enforcement.

In the process of FIG. 13, as well as in other processes describedherein, a determination is made as to which other users will receive anotification of the video footage that is shared by the first user. Thisdetermination is based on the relative locations of the A/V recordingand communication devices associated with each of the users. And, asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 12, whether or not a given user(User X) will receive a share notification is dependent upon thedistance (alert radius) set by User X with respect to his or her own A/Vrecording and communication device(s). If the device that recorded theshared video is located within the area(s) defined by User X around hisor her own A/V recording and communication device(s), then User X willreceive a share notification. If the device that recorded the sharedvideo is located outside the area(s) defined by User X around his or herown A/V recording and communication device(s), then User X will notreceive a share notification. Thus, the determination of which userswill receive a share notification is not dependent upon an alert radiusset by the owner/user of the A/V recording and communication device thatrecorded the shared video. Rather, that determination is based on thealert radii set by the owners/users of the A/V recording andcommunication devices other than the device that recorded the sharedvideo, and many of these alert radii may differ from one another. Thatis, User X1 may set an alert radius of one-half mile around his or herdoorbell while User X2 may set an alert radius of three miles around hisor her doorbell. If the device that recorded the shared video is withinone-half mile of User X1's doorbell, then User X1 will receive a sharenotification, and if the device that recorded the shared video is withinthree miles of User X2's doorbell, then User X2 will receive a sharenotification.

Further, in some instances a first user may not receive a sharenotification while a second user may receive a share notification, eventhough the first user's doorbell is located closer to the doorbell thatrecorded the shared video than the second user's doorbell is. Forexample, again assume that User X1 has set an alert radius of one-halfmile around his or her doorbell while User X2 has set an alert radius ofthree miles around his or her doorbell. If User X1's doorbell is onemile away from the doorbell that recorded the shared video and User X2'sdoorbell is two miles away from the doorbell that recorded the sharedvideo, then User X1 will not receive a share notification because thedoorbell that recorded the shared video is outside User X1's alertradius, but User X2 will receive a share notification because thedoorbell that recorded the shared video is inside User X2's alertradius.

Still further, a given user may have more than one A/V recording andcommunication device, and at least two of those devices may be indifferent locations (e.g. not on the same property or attached to thesame structure). In such cases, each device may have its own alertradius, and therefore its own defined distance/area for receiving sharenotifications. Thus, a user may receive a share notification when thedevice that recorded the shared video is within the defined area aroundat least one of that user's devices, even if the device that recordedthe shared video is outside the defined area around at least one otherof that same user's devices.

In some embodiments, a user may have more than one A/V recording andcommunication device at the same location (e.g. attached to the samestructure, or attached to separate structures that are located on thesame property). In such cases, devices that are proximate one anothermay share an alert area. For example, a user may have an A/V recordingand communication doorbell located near his or her front door and an A/Vrecording and communication security camera located at the rear of hisor her home. These devices may share one alert radius/alert area.

Still further, users may adjust as desired the size of the definedarea(s) around their A/V recording and communication device(s).Information about each A/V recording and communication device in a givenset of A/V recording and communication devices may be stored in one ormore data structures and accessed when needed to determine which userswill receive a share notification whenever a first user shares recordedvideo footage. When a user adjusts the size of the defined area(s)around his or her A/V recording and communication device(s), theinformation stored in the data structure(s) may be updated accordingly.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell (or other A/Vrecording and communication device) according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. The process of FIG. 14 is described from theperspective of the network device(s). Thus, at block B560 the networkdevice(s) receive a first alert signal and a first video signal from afirst A/V doorbell. At block B562, the network device(s) transmit asecond alert signal and a second video signal to the first clientdevice. At block B564, the network device(s) receive a share signal fromthe first client device. At block B566, the network device(s) determineat least one second A/V doorbell within at least one predefined distancefrom the first A/V doorbell. At block B568, the network device(s)transmit a share notification signal to the at least one second clientdevice corresponding to the at least one determined second A/V doorbell.

FIGS. 15-20 are screenshots of a graphical user interface (GUI) 570illustrating aspects of a process for sharing video footage from an A/Vrecording and communication device according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. The process of FIGS. 15-20 is described from the perspectiveof a user who receives an alert signal and a video signal on his or herclient device. Thus, the GUI 570 illustrated in FIGS. 15-20 isconfigured to be displayed on a display of the user's client device,such as a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 15, a live call screen 572 is illustrated. When auser's A/V recording and communication device detects motion, or, in thecase of a doorbell, when a visitor presses the front button on thedoorbell, the user receives an alert on his or her client device alongwith streaming video footage recorded by the camera of the A/V recordingand communication device. If the user answers the alert, a live callscreen 572 such as that shown in FIG. 15 may be displayed on the user'sclient device. The live call screen 572 may include one or more buttons,such as an END button 574 (to terminate or disconnect the call), avolume adjust button 576, a mute button 578, a full screen button 580(to expand the video so that it fills the entire display screen), and/ora menu button 582.

The live call screen 572 may further include a neighborhood share button584. If the user selects the neighborhood share button 584 during thelive call, the GUI 570 may display a notification 586 that the user willbe prompted after the live call to share the video of the call withother users in the user's “neighborhood,” e.g. those users determinedaccording to the process described above with reference to FIGS. 13 and14. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the notification 586 may appear ina banner portion 588 of the live call screen 572. Advantageously,displaying the notification 586 in a banner 588 does not interrupt thelive call, so that the user and the visitor can continue speaking to oneanother for as long as desired.

If the user selects the neighborhood share button 584 during the livecall, then after the call is terminated, such as when the user selectsthe END button 574 on the live call screen 572 (FIG. 15), a shareinformation screen 590 may be shown on the GUI 570, as shown in FIG. 17.In the illustrated embodiment, the share information screen 590 includesa still image 592 from the video that was recorded during the live call,and textual information 594. For example, the text 594 may include aphrase such as “Alert your neighborhood,” which informs (or reminds) theuser that he or she is about to share the recorded video footage withone or more other users. The text 594 may further include a notice thatthe video footage will be shared along with a general indication ofwhere the video was recorded. For example, the location information mayidentify the street name and block number, such as “1300 block of 14thStreet,” and/or may identify the nearest intersection, such as “Near theintersection of 14th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.” An icon 596,such as a question mark, may also be displayed. If the user selects thequestion mark icon 596, further information about the share feature maybe displayed, and/or a help menu may be displayed.

The share information screen 590 may further include a text entry box598. If the user selects the text entry box 598, such as by tapping onit if the user's client device includes a touchscreen display, akeyboard 600 may appear on the display, as shown in FIG. 18. The usermay then enter text to describe the content of the shared video. Afterentering text, the user may select a SHARE button 602, after which theshare signal (FIG. 13) is sent to the network and the network identifiesone or more other users who will be notified of the shared video andsends out notifications to the identified other users. The share signalmay include, or be accompanied by, the text entered by the user in thetext entry box 598 of the GUI 570 shown in FIG. 18. The user may alsodecline to enter any text in the text entry box 598, and may insteadsimply select the SHARE button 602 from the share information screen 590of FIG. 17, after which the share signal (FIG. 13) is sent to thenetwork and the network identifies one or more other users who will benotified of the shared video and sends out notifications to theidentified other users.

After the user selects the SHARE button 602, with or without enteringtext in the text entry box 598, a confirmation screen 604 may bedisplayed on the display of the user's client device, as shown in FIG.19. The confirmation screen 604 may include text 606, such as a messageconfirming that the video has been shared (“Your video has been shared”)and/or a thank you message (“Thanks for helping to keep yourneighborhood safe.”). The confirmation screen 604 may further include abutton, such as an OK button 608, which, when selected, may return theuser to another screen, such as a menu screen, of the applicationexecuting on the user's client device. With reference to FIGS. 17-19,the share information screen 590 (FIG. 17), the text entry screen 610(FIG. 18), and/or the confirmation screen 604 (FIG. 19) may include aclose button 612 (the “X” in the upper right-hand corner). If the userselects the close button 612, the share operation may be terminatedwithout sharing the video footage from the live call. Further, if theuser selects the close button 612, a popup window (not shown) may beshown on the display asking the user to confirm that the share operationis to be terminated.

In further reference to FIGS. 15-19, in some embodiments the sharesignal may be sent to the network, and the network may enable one ormore of the identified recipient users to further comment about theshared video and/or the text regarding the shared video. In someembodiments, the further comments may be directed to the user thatshared the video, or may be directed to all the users. For example, if auser shares a video depicting a person committing a crime, another userthat receives the shared video may recognize the person depicted in thevideo (the perpetrator). The recipient user may then send identifyinginformation about the perpetrator, which may be useful in apprehendingthe perpetrator. In some embodiments, the identifying information may besent directly to the user that shared the information, or it may beposted to the network such that it is visible to all the recipients ofthe shared video. In another example, if a user shares a video depictinga person committing a crime, and knows (or recognizes) the perpetrator,then users that receive the shared video may request the identifyinginformation about the person directly from the user that shared thevideo. In some embodiments, the user that shared the video may get adirect message such as (but not limited to) an email requesting theinformation. The user may then decide whether or not to provide theidentifying information to the requesting user. A further example mayinclude the network providing a comment section with the shared video sothat the various users may provide comments regarding the shared video.An additional example may include allowing users to post comments and/orsend messages regarding the shared video without revealing theirpersonal identity and/or contact information, such as email addresses.In further embodiments, the share signal may include image data and/oraudio data that is captured and transmitted to the network in real-time(or near real-time), which may make the share signal a live video feed.In such embodiments, a user may set his or her share features toautomatically share particular events and/or types of events to thenetwork. In some embodiments, various users may comment on the sharedlive video feed, as described above.

FIGS. 20-24 are screenshots of a graphical user interface (GUI) 620illustrating aspects of another process for sharing video footage froman A/V recording and communication device according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. The process of FIGS. 20-24 is described from theperspective of a user who views an earlier-recorded video on his or herclient device. Thus, the GUI 620 illustrated in FIGS. 20-24 isconfigured to be displayed on a display of the user's client device,such as a smartphone. In this embodiment, the video displayed on theuser's client device is not a live call, but rather is a recording of avisitor event that took place earlier in time. The recording may be,however, a recording of an earlier live call between the user and thevisitor.

With reference to FIG. 20, a video playback screen 622 is illustrated.When a user's A/V recording and communication device detects motion, or,in the case of a doorbell, when a visitor presses the front button onthe doorbell, the user receives an alert on his or her client devicealong with streaming video footage recorded by the camera of the A/Vrecording and communication device. If the user ignores the alert, themotion event or button press event may nevertheless be recorded andstored at a remote network device. When the user later accesses thestored video footage, the video may be displayed on the video playbackscreen 622 on the user's client device, as shown in FIG. 20.Alternatively, if the user answers the alert and communicates with thevisitor but does not share the video from within the live call (asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 15-19), the user may still viewthe recorded video footage by accessing it from a menu, as describedbelow.

With further reference to FIG. 20, the video playback screen 622 mayinclude one or more buttons or controls, such as a volume adjustmentslider widget 624, a rewind button 626, a play button 628, a fastforward button 630, a delete button 632, and/or a share button 634. Ifthe user selects the share button 634, a popup menu (not shown) may beshown on the display offering the user one or more options for sharingthe video with his or her contacts and/or via social media. For example,the popup menu (or any other suitable type of interface) may includeoptions for sharing the video via e-mail, via text message, and/or viasocial media, such as on NEXTDOOR®, FACEBOOK®, INSTAGRAM®, TWITTER®,etc. When the user selects one of the options, a new message (or post,etc.) may then be created including a link to the video to be shared.For example, if the user selects a social media network through which toshare the video, the process may create a social media post with a linkto the video to be shared. Posting the video to one or more socialnetworks may enable the video to be seen by others, including others wholive in the neighborhood where the video was recorded. Those persons mayrecognize a person in the video, and may be able to help identify thatperson. Further, the social network post may provide a warning to otherswho live in the neighborhood where the video was recorded, encouragingthose people to be watchful for the person(s) in the video.

While the present embodiments are not limited to use with any particularsocial network, or type of social network, the present embodiments maynevertheless be well adapted for use with a neighborhood-oriented socialnetwork, such as NEXTDOOR®. Neighborhood-oriented social networks allowusers to connect with people who live in their neighborhood, and/or innearby neighborhoods, by limiting access to posts to the people in thesame neighborhood as the poster, or those nearby. As described above, insome aspects the present embodiments enable a user to share a video to asocial network. When the video is posted to a social networking servicefor neighborhoods, the video is more likely to be seen by people wholive in the neighborhood where the video was recorded. The video is thusmore likely to be relevant to the people in the neighborhood-orientedsocial network, because those people are more likely to have also seenthe person(s) in the video. The neighborhood-oriented social networkmembers may therefore be able to provide additional information aboutthe person(s) in the video, such as confirming that they too have seenthe person(s) in the neighborhood and/or helping to identify theperson(s) in the video. If the person(s) in the video has committedcriminal acts in the neighborhood, identifying the person(s) may helplead to their capture and conviction.

With further reference to FIG. 20, the video playback screen 622 mayfurther include a progress bar 636 and a slider widget 638 thatindicates what portion of the video is currently playing. For example, atimer 640 at a first end 642 of the progress bar 636 indicates how muchof the video has elapsed, and a timer 644 at a second end 646 of theprogress bar 636 indicates how much of the video is left to play. As thevideo plays, the progress slider widget 638 moves from the first end 642to the second end 646 of the progress bar 636. If the user wants to jumpto a particular portion of the video, he or she may move the sliderwidget 638 left or right by selecting it, sliding it along the progressbar 636, and releasing it. The video playback screen 622 may furtherinclude a Done button 648, which, when selected, closes the video andreturns the user to a previous screen within the application executingon the user's client device.

With further reference to FIG. 20, the video playback screen 622 mayfurther include a neighborhood share button 584. If the user selects theneighborhood share button 584, the GUI 620 may display textualinformation 594, as shown in FIG. 21. For example, the text 594 mayinclude a phrase such as “Alert your neighborhood,” which informs (orreminds) the user that he or she is about to share the recorded videofootage with one or more other users. The text 594 may further include anotice that the video footage will be shared along with a generalindication of where the video was recorded. For example, the locationinformation may identify the street name and block number, such as “1300block of 14th Street,” and/or may identify the nearest intersection,such as “Near the intersection of 14th Street and Santa MonicaBoulevard.” An icon 596, such as a question mark, may also be displayed.If the user selects the question mark icon 596, further informationabout the share feature may be displayed, and/or a help menu may bedisplayed.

The GUI 620 of FIG. 21 may further include a text entry box 598. If theuser selects the text entry box 598, such as by tapping on it if theuser's client device includes a touchscreen display, a keyboard 600 mayappear on the display, as shown in FIG. 22. The user may then enter textto describe the content of the shared video. After entering text, theuser may select a SHARE button 602, after which the share signal (FIG.13) is sent to the network and the network identifies one or more otherusers who will be notified of the shared video and sends outnotifications to the identified other users. The share signal mayinclude, or be accompanied by, the text entered by the user in the textentry box 598 of the GUI 620 shown in FIG. 22. The user may also declineto enter any text in the text entry box 598, and may instead simplyselect the SHARE button 602 from the share screen 650 of FIG. 21, afterwhich the share signal (FIG. 13) is sent to the network and the networkidentifies one or more other users who will be notified of the sharedvideo and sends out notifications to the identified other users.

After the user selects the SHARE button 602, with or without enteringtext in the text entry box 598, a confirmation message 652 may bedisplayed on the GUI 620 of the user's client device, as shown in FIG.28. The confirmation message 652 may include text, such as a messageconfirming that the video has been shared (“Your video has been postedand your neighborhood has been alerted.”). With reference to FIG. 24, apopup message 654 may also be shown asking the user if he or she wouldlike to “unshare” the video. The popup message 654 may include text 656such as “You have already shared this video with your Neighborhood.” andone or more buttons, such as a CANCEL button 658 and/or a YES (or OK)button 660. If the user selects the YES button 660, the shared video maybe “unshared,” whereas if the user selects the CANCEL button 658, theshared video will not be “unshared.” With reference to FIGS. 21-23, theGUI 620 may include a close button 612 (the “X” in the upper right-handcorner). If the user selects the close button 612, the share operationmay be terminated without sharing the video footage. Further, if theuser selects the close button 612, a popup window (not shown) may beshown on the display asking the user to confirm that the share operationis to be terminated.

In some embodiments, video footage recorded by a user's A/V recordingand communication device may not be stored at a remote network device ona long-term basis. In such embodiments, the user may still share videofootage from his or her A/V recording and communication device withother users, but only from a live call, such as according to the processdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 15-19 (and not from a videoplayback process, such as that described above with reference to FIGS.20-24). To enable this aspect, all video recorded by the user's A/Vrecording and communication device may be temporarily stored at a remotenetwork device so that it is available for sharing if the user sharesthe video footage from the live call. For example, the video may betemporarily stored at a remote network device as long as the live callis in progress, but if the live call terminates without the userselecting the neighborhood share button 584 (FIG. 15), the video thatwas temporarily stored at the remote network device may then be deleted.

In further reference to FIGS. 20-24, and as described above with respectto FIGS. 15-19, in some embodiments, the share signal may be sent to thenetwork, and the network may enable one or more of the identifiedrecipient users to further comment about the shared video and/or thetext regarding the shared video. In some embodiments, the furthercomments may be directed to the user that shared the video, or may bedirected to all the users. For example, if a user shares a videodepicting a person committing a crime, another user that receives theshared video may recognize the person depicted in the video (theperpetrator). The recipient user may then send identifying informationabout the person, which may be useful in apprehending the perpetrator.In some embodiments, the identifying information may be sent directly tothe user that shared the information, or it may be posted to the networksuch that it is visible to all the recipients of the shared video. Inanother example, if a user shares a video depicting a person committinga crime, and knows (or recognizes) the perpetrator, then users thatreceive the shared video may request the identifying information aboutthe person directly from the user that shared the video. In someembodiments, the user that shared the video may get a direct messagesuch as (but not limited to) an email requesting the information. Theuser may then decide whether or not to provide the identifyinginformation to the requesting user. A further example may include thenetwork providing a comment section with the shared video so that thevarious users may provide comments regarding the shared video. Anadditional example may include allowing users to post comments and/orsend messages regarding the shared video without revealing theirpersonal identity and/or contact information, such as email addresses.In further embodiments, the share signal may include image data and/oraudio data that is captured and transmitted to the network in real-time(or near real-time) which may make the share signal a live video feed.In such embodiments, a user may set his or her share features toautomatically share particular events and/or types of events to thenetwork. In some embodiments, various users may comment on the sharedlive video feed, as described above.

FIG. 25 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure. The process of FIG. 25 includesaspects of the process of FIG. 13, including the doorbell 520 sending afirst alert signal and a first video signal 540 to the network (and thenetwork receives the first alert signal and the first video signal 540),the network 542 transmitting to a first client device (User's ClientDevice #1), in response to receiving the first alert signal and thefirst video signal, a second alert signal and a second video signal 546,the first client device 544 sending a share signal 548 to the network(and the network receiving the share signal 548 from the first clientdevice), and the network device(s) 542 transmitting a share notificationsignal 550 to each client device associated with the other doorbell(s)identified (including at least User's Client Device #3 552).

The process of FIG. 25 further comprises the third client device 552sending a playback request signal 662 to the network 542 (and thenetwork 542 receiving the playback request signal 662 from the thirdclient device 552), and the network device(s) 542, in response toreceiving the playback request signal 662 from the third client device552, transmitting a third video signal 664 to the third client device552, the third video signal 664 including the shared video footagerecorded by A/V Doorbell #1 520. For example, User's Client Device #3552 may receive the share notification signal 550, which may be, forexample, a push notification. The user associated with User's ClientDevice #3 552 may then choose to view the shared video footage, such asby selecting a “VIEW NOW” button (or an “OK” button, etc.) in the pushnotification. Alternatively, the user may ignore the share notificationsignal 550, but may subsequently request to view the shared videofootage through one or more screens/menus within an applicationexecuting on User's Client Device #3 552, as described below. Theplayback request signal 662 is then sent to the network 542, and theshared video footage is sent to User's Client Device #3 552 in the thirdvideo signal 664.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure. The process of FIG. 26 is describedfrom the perspective of the network device(s). Thus, at block B560 thenetwork device(s) receive a first alert signal and a first video signalfrom a first A/V doorbell. At block B562, the network device(s) transmita second alert signal and a second video signal to the first clientdevice. At block B564, the network device(s) receive a share signal fromthe first client device. At block B566, the network device(s) determineat least one second A/V doorbell within at least one predefined distancefrom the first A/V doorbell. At block B568, the network device(s)transmit a share notification signal to the at least one second clientdevice corresponding to the at least one determined second A/V doorbell.At block B670, the network device(s) receive a playback request signalfrom the second client device. At block B672, the network device(s)transmits a third video signal to the second client device.

FIGS. 27-30 are screenshots of graphical user interfaces (GUIs)illustrating aspects of another process for sharing video footage froman A/V recording and communication device according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. FIGS. 27-30 are described below from the perspectiveof a user operating his or her client device. Thus, the GUIs illustratedin FIGS. 27-30 are configured to be displayed on a display of the user'sclient device, such as a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 27, the GUI 680 includes buttons for each of theuser's A/V recording and communication devices. For example, the GUI 680of FIG. 27 includes a first button 682 for the doorbell located adjacentthe user's front door and a second button 684 for the doorbell locatedadjacent the user's back door. The user may view video footage recordedby his or her devices by selecting from among the buttons 682, 684corresponding to each device. The user may further view video footageorganized by type by selecting from among a plurality of filter buttons686, 688, 690. For example, the GUI 680 of FIG. 27 includes a firstfilter button 686 for ALL ACTIVITY, a second filter button 688 for CALLS(video recorded when the front button on the user's doorbell ispressed), and a third filter button 690 for MOTION (video recorded whenthe user's doorbell detects motion). When the user selects the ALLACTIVITY filter button 686, a list 691 may be displayed on the GUI 680that includes entries for all videos recorded by the user's device(s),as well as entries for all shared videos recorded by other users'devices in the user's “neighborhood,” e.g. those devices determinedaccording to the process described above with reference to FIGS. 13 and14. For example, the list 691 of FIG. 27 includes entries labeled“ACCEPTED RING” 692 and “MISSED RING” 694, which correspond to videosrecorded by the user's doorbell(s) in response to the button on thedoorbell(s) being pressed. The list 691 further includes entries labeled“MISSED MOTION” 696, which correspond to videos recorded by the user'sdevice(s) in response to motion being detected.

The list 691 of FIG. 27 further includes an entry labeled “NEIGHBORHOODALERT [Suspicious Activity]” 698. The neighborhood alert entry 698 mayfurther include a neighborhood event icon 700, which identifies theentry 698 as corresponding to a shared video from another user's devicein the user's “neighborhood.” The neighborhood alert entry 698 mayfurther include information about the shared video, including theapproximate location 702 where it was recorded, the day and time 704when it was recorded, and a textual description 706 of the video asprovided by the user whose device recorded the video. If the userselects the neighborhood alert entry 698, a playback request signal 662is sent from the user's client device to the network (FIG. 20), and avideo signal 664 including the requested video is sent from the networkto the user's client device. A GUI similar to that shown in FIG. 15 (butwithout the neighborhood share button) may then be shown on the displayof the user's client device and the user may view the shared video.

With reference to FIG. 28, the GUI 680 may further include a side menu708. The side menu 708 may be accessed, for example, by touching thedisplay of the user's client device and swiping to the right (if thedisplay of the user's client device is a touchscreen). The side menu 708may include buttons 710 for various settings, buttons 712 for each ofthe user's A/V recording and communication devices, as well as aNEIGHBORHOOD button 714. The NEIGHBORHOOD button 714 may further includethe neighborhood event icon 700, which is described in the foregoingparagraph. When the user selects the NEIGHBORHOOD button 714, theNEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITY screen 716 illustrated in FIG. 34 may be displayedon the display of the user's client device.

With reference to FIG. 29 the NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITY screen 716 mayinclude a Neighborhood button 718 and an Alert Settings button 720. Whenthe user selects the Neighborhood button 718, a NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITYlist 722 may be displayed on the GUI 680 that includes neighborhoodalert entries 698 (the content and functionality of which is describedabove with respect to FIG. 27). With further reference to FIG. 29, whenthe user selects the Alert Settings button 720, if the user has A/Vrecording and communication devices at more than one location, then aSelect a Neighborhood screen 724 may be displayed on the display of theuser's client device, as shown in FIG. 30. The Select a Neighborhoodscreen 724 may include a list 726 having entries corresponding to eachlocation (e.g. each “neighborhood”) where the user has at least one A/Vrecording and communication device. For example, the list 726 of FIG. 30includes a first entry 728 for the user's home “neighborhood” and asecond entry 730 for the user's office “neighborhood.” In certainembodiments, if the user has more than one A/V recording andcommunication device at a given location, only one entry may bedisplayed per location. For example, if the user has two doorbells andone security camera at a given address, only one entry appears in thelist 726 for that location, and the entry covers all three devices atthat location. If the user has one or more A/V recording andcommunication devices at another location, another entry appears in thelist 726 for that other location. Also in certain embodiments, theentries in the list 726 may comprise addresses rather than, or inaddition to, names. For example, rather than the first entry 728 beinglabeled “Home” and the second entry 730 being labeled “Office,” thefirst entry 728 may be labeled “123 Main Street” and the second entry730 may be labeled “456 First Street.”

If, however, the user does not have A/V recording and communicationdevices at more than one location, then when the user selects the AlertSettings button 720 (FIG. 29) a Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 732may be displayed on the display of the user's client device, as shown inFIGS. 31 and 36. Further, if the user has A/V recording andcommunication devices at more than one location, then when the userselects one of the locations from the list 726 on the NEIGHBORHOODACTIVITY screen 716 of FIG. 31, then the Neighborhood Alert Settingsscreen 732 of FIGS. 31 and 32 may also be displayed on the display ofthe user's client device.

With reference to FIG. 31, the Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 732includes an ON/OFF slider widget 734 that enables the user to toggle thevideo sharing feature on and off. When the ON/OFF slider widget 734 isin the ON position, as shown in FIG. 31, the user may receive sharingnotifications (alerts) when other users in the user's “neighborhood”share videos, and shared videos may appear in the list 691 of events onthe user's ALL ACTIVITY screen 736 (FIG. 27), as well as in the list 722of events on the user's NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITY screen 716 (FIG. 29). Incertain embodiments, the ON/OFF slider widget 734 may be in the ONposition by default. When the ON/OFF slider widget 734 is in the OFFposition, as shown in FIG. 32, the user may not receive sharingnotifications (alerts) when other users in the user's “neighborhood”share videos, and shared videos may not appear in the list 691 of eventson the user's ALL ACTIVITY screen 736 (FIG. 27), but shared videos mayappear in the list 722 of events on the user's NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITYscreen 716 (FIG. 29). The Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 732 furtherincludes a text banner 738 that explains how the video sharing featurefunctions when the ON/OFF slider widget 734 is in the ON position (FIG.31) and when the ON/OFF slider widget 734 is in the OFF position (FIG.32).

With reference to FIG. 31, the Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 732further includes a map 740. An indicator 742 on the map 740 indicatesthe location of the user's A/V recording and communication device(s)corresponding to the location selected from the list 724 of FIG. 30 (orcorresponding to the single location at which the user has at least oneA/V recording and communication device, if the user does not have A/Vrecording and communication devices at more than one location). In theillustrated embodiment, the indicator 742 comprises a dot, but in otherembodiments the indicator 742 may comprise any other type of indicator,such as a pin, for example. The Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 732further includes a text banner 744 that provides the street address ofthe location corresponding to the indicator 742 on the map 740.

With further reference to FIG. 31, the Neighborhood Alert Settingsscreen 732 further includes a slider widget 746 for adjusting the alertradius around the user's A/V recording and communication device(s) atthe location indicated on the map 740. A circle 748 around the indicator742 on the map 740 identifies the outer boundary of the area 750 fromwhich the user will receive share notifications from other users. Anarea 750 within the circle 748 may be shaded, as indicated in FIG. 31.To adjust the size of the area 750, the user adjusts the length of thealert radius by moving the slider widget 746 up or down. In theillustrated embodiment, moving the slider widget 746 up increases thesize of the area 750 (and the alert radius), while moving the sliderwidget 746 down decreases the size of the area 750 (and the alertradius). As the slider widget 746 is moved up and down, the size of thecircle 748 around the indicator 742 may increase and decrease to providethe user with a visual representation of the area 750 covered as thelength of the alert radius increases and decreases. In some embodiments,the map 740 may have a default scale. As the user moves the sliderwidget 746 up to increase the size of the alert radius, if the circle748 reaches the edges of the map 740, then the map 740 may begin toscale down so that the entire alert area 750 is always visible on themap 740.

When the user adjusts the size of the alert radius, the user's clientdevice may send an alert radius adjustment signal to the network and thenetwork may update a data structure with the changed size of the user'salert radius. For example, with further reference to FIG. 31, the usermay adjust the size of the alert radius by moving the slider widget 746up or down. To confirm the change, the user may select a back arrow 752on the GUI 680 to return to the previous screen within the applicationexecuting on the user's client device. When the user selects the backarrow 752, the alert radius adjustment signal is sent to the network andthe network updates the data structure with the changed size of theuser's alert radius. In some embodiments, if the user exits theapplication without selecting the back arrow 752, then the adjustment ofthe alert radius may be discarded (the size of the alert radius mayremain unchanged).

With further reference to FIG. 31, the magnitude of the alert radius maybe indicated by a number on the slider widget 746. For example, in FIG.31 the alert radius is set at 0.2 miles, as indicated by the number 0.2on the slider widget 746. Maximum and/or minimum magnitudes of the alertradius may be indicated by numbers at opposite ends of the slider widget746. For example, in FIG. 31 the maximum alert radius is indicated as 10miles at the upper end of the slider widget 746, while the minimum alertradius is indicated as 0.1 miles at the lower end of the slider widget746. It should be appreciated that the maximum and minimum magnitudesshown in FIGS. 31 and 32 are just examples and are not limiting.

In certain embodiments, the magnitude of the alert radius may bedynamically set based on the number of other A/V recording andcommunication devices around the location indicated on the map 740. Forexample, the alert radius may be set such that the resulting definedarea 750 around the user's A/V recording and communication deviceencompasses at least a minimum threshold number of other A/V recordingand communication devices. Alternatively, the alert radius may be setsuch that the resulting defined area 750 around the user's A/V recordingand communication device encompasses no more than a maximum thresholdnumber of other A/V recording and communication devices. Still further,the alert radius may be set such that the resulting defined area 750around the user's A/V recording and communication device encompasses anumber of other A/V recording and communication devices that fallswithin a defined range. In certain embodiments, the magnitude of thealert radius may be dynamically adjusted as the number of other A/Vrecording and communication devices around the user's device changes.Thus, as more A/V recording and communication devices are added aroundthe user's device, the size of the alert radius may be decreased so thatthe number of other A/V recording and communication devices in thedefined area 750 remains about the same. Conversely, as A/V recordingand communication devices are removed (or deactivated) from the area 750around the user's device, the size of the alert radius may be increasedso that the number of other A/V recording and communication devices inthe defined area 750 remains about the same. In certain embodiments, theuser may override the dynamic setting and/or adjustment of the magnitudeof the alert radius by manually selecting the magnitude of the alertradius by moving the slider widget 746 as described above with referenceto FIG. 31.

In some embodiments, the defined alert area about a user's A/V recordingand communication device may not have a circular outer boundary. Forexample, a user may define an alert area about his or her A/V recordingand communication device that has a non-circular shape, such as square,rectangular, or any other shape, including irregular polygons. The shapeof the alert area may also extend a greater distance from A/V recordingand communication device in one direction than in another direction. Forexample, if an A/V recording and communication device is located in acoastal area, or on a lakefront, or on an edge of an uninhabited area(such as a desert), or on an edge of a restricted area (such as amilitary base), then the user may not want the alert area to extend overthe water, or desert, or military base, etc., but the user may want thealert area to extend a substantial distance in directions away from thewater, or desert, or military base, etc. In such embodiments, the A/Vrecording and communication device would not be located at the center ofthe defined alert area.

FIG. 33 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure. In the process of FIG. 33, a newA/V recording and communication device is activated and connected to thenetwork. In certain embodiments, some aspects of theactivation/setup/connection process may be carried out using anapplication executing on the user's client device. Thus, with referenceto FIG. 33, the user's client device 754 (User's Client Device #1) maysend to the network 756, and the network 756 may receive from the user'sclient device 754, information 758 associated with the user's A/Vrecording and communication device (A/V Doorbell #1). The information758 may include, for example, the location of the user's A/V recordingand communication device. The location may comprise the street addressof a building with which the user's A/V recording and communicationdevice is associated, such as being secured thereto, for example. Theuser's client device 754 may further send to the network 756, and thenetwork 756 may further receive from the user's client device 754, anenable signal 760 for the video sharing feature of the user's A/Vrecording and communication device. For example, during the setupprocess the user may enable (turn on) the video sharing feature using aGUI such as that illustrated in FIG. 31. In some embodiments, the videosharing feature may be enabled by default, such that the user does nothave to take any affirmative steps to enable the video sharing feature.

With further reference to FIG. 33, the user's client device 754 mayfurther send to the network 756, and the network 756 may further receivefrom the user's client device 754, a notification distance (alertradius) 762 associated with the video sharing feature of the user's A/Vrecording and communication device. For example, during the setupprocess the user may select an alert radius 762 using a GUI such as thatillustrated in FIG. 31. In some embodiments, the alert radius 762 may beset automatically to a default value, or may be set automaticallyaccording to the criteria described above, such that the user does nothave to take any affirmative steps to set the alert radius 762. Thealert radius 762 defines an area around the user's A/V recording andcommunication device that encompasses at least one other A/V recordingand communication device, which in this example will be referred to asA/V Doorbell #2. A/V Doorbell #2 may record video footage, and the userassociated with A/V Doorbell #2 may share the recorded video footageaccording to a process described herein. Thus, with further reference toFIG. 33, the client device associated with A/V Doorbell #2 (User'sClient Device #2 764) may send to the network 756, and the network 756may receive from User's Client Device #2 764, a share signal 766. Thenetwork 756, after determining that A/V Doorbell #2 764 is within thealert area defined around A/V Doorbell #1, may then send a sharenotification signal 768 to the client device associated with A/VDoorbell #1 (User's Client Device #1 754).

FIGS. 34 and 35 are flowcharts illustrating other processes for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 34 is described from theperspective of the user, while FIG. 35 is described from the perspectiveof the network device(s). Thus, with reference to FIG. 34, at block B770the user may activate a new A/V recording and communication device andconnect it to the network. As described above, some aspects of theactivation/setup/connection process may be carried out using anapplication executing on the user's client device. At block B772, theuser may enable the video sharing feature of the user's A/V recordingand communication device, and at block B774 the user may set anotification distance (alert radius) associated with the video sharingfeature of the user's A/V recording and communication device. Asdescribed above, these aspects of the activation/setup/connectionprocess may be automated, such that the user does not have to take anyaffirmative steps. The alert radius defines an area around the user'sA/V recording and communication device that encompasses at least oneother A/V recording and communication device, which in this example willbe referred to as a second A/V doorbell. The second A/V doorbell mayrecord video footage, and the user associated with the second A/Vdoorbell may share the recorded video footage according to a processdescribed herein. The client device associated with the second A/Vdoorbell may send to the network, and the network may receive from thesecond A/V doorbell, a share signal. The network, after determining thatthe second A/V doorbell is within the alert area defined around A/VDoorbell #1, may then send a share notification signal to the clientdevice associated with A/V Doorbell #1 (first client device). Thus, atblock B776 the first client device may receive the share notificationsignal, including a link to the video footage recorded by the second A/Vdoorbell that is within the notification distance (alert radius) of thefirst A/V doorbell.

With reference to FIG. 35, at block B778 the network may receive fromthe user's client device information associated with the user's A/Vrecording and communication device (first A/V doorbell). The informationmay include, for example, the location of the first A/V doorbell. Thelocation may comprise the street address of a building with which thefirst A/V doorbell is associated, such as being secured thereto, forexample. At block B780, the network may further receive from the user'sclient device, an enable signal for the video sharing feature of thefirst A/V doorbell. For example, during the setup process the user mayenable (turn on) the video sharing feature using a GUI such as thatillustrated in FIG. 31. In some embodiments, the video sharing featuremay be enabled by default, such that the user does not have to take anyaffirmative steps to enable the video sharing feature.

With further reference to FIG. 35, at block B782 the network may furtherreceive from the user's client device a notification distance (alertradius) associated with the video sharing feature of the first A/Vdoorbell. For example, during the setup process the user may select analert radius using a GUI such as that illustrated in FIG. 31. In someembodiments, the alert radius may be set automatically to a defaultvalue, or may be set automatically according to the criteria describedabove, such that the user does not have to take any affirmative steps toset the alert radius. At block B784, the network may update one or moredata structures (alert areas) with the information received about thefirst A/V doorbell, including its location and/or its alert radius.

The alert radius defines an area around the first A/V doorbell thatencompasses at least one other A/V recording and communication device,which in this example will be referred to as second A/V doorbell. Thesecond A/V doorbell may record video footage, and the user associatedwith the second A/V doorbell may share the recorded video footageaccording to a process described herein. Thus, with further reference toFIG. 35, at block B786 the network may receive from the second clientdevice a share signal. The network, after determining, at block B788,that the second A/V doorbell is within the alert area defined around thefirst A/V doorbell, may then send a share notification signal to theclient device associated with the first A/V doorbell at block B790.

FIG. 36 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process for sharingvideo footage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure. The process of FIG. 36 includesaspects of the process of FIG. 33, including the user's client device754 (User's Client Device #1) sending to the network 756 (and thenetwork 756 receiving from the user's client device 754, information 758associated with the user's A/V recording and communication device (A/VDoorbell #1), the user's client device 754 further sending to thenetwork 756 (and the network 756 further receiving from the user'sclient device 754) an enable signal 760 for the video sharing feature ofthe user's A/V recording and communication device, the user's clientdevice 754 further sending to the network 756 (and the network 756further receiving from the user's client device 754) a notificationdistance (alert radius) 762 associated with the video sharing feature ofthe user's A/V recording and communication device, the second clientdevice 764 (User's Client Device #2) sending a share signal 766 to thenetwork 756 (and the network 756 receiving the share signal 766 from thesecond client device 764), and the network device(s) 756 transmitting ashare notification signal 768 to the user's client device 754.

The process of FIG. 36 further comprises the user's client device 754sending a playback request signal 792 to the network 756 (and thenetwork 756 receiving the playback request signal from the user's clientdevice 754), and the network device(s) 756, in response to receiving theplayback request signal 792 from the user's client device 754,transmitting a video signal 794 to the user's client device 754, thevideo signal 794 including the shared video footage recorded by A/VDoorbell #2. For example, User's Client Device #1 754 may receive theshare notification signal 768, which may be, for example, a pushnotification. The user associated with User's Client Device #1 754 maythen choose to view the shared video footage, such as by selecting a“VIEW NOW” button (or an “OK” button, etc.) in the push notification.Alternatively, the user may ignore the share notification signal 768,but may subsequently request to view the shared video footage throughone or more screens/menus within an application executing on User'sClient Device #1 754, as described above. The playback request signal768 is then sent to the network 756, and the shared video footage issent to User's Client Device #1 754 in the video signal 794.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating another process for sharing videofootage from an A/V recording and communication doorbell according to anaspect of the present disclosure. The process of FIG. 37 is describedfrom the perspective of the network device(s). Thus, at block B778 thenetwork receives from the user's client device information associatedwith the user's A/V recording and communication device (first A/Vdoorbell). The information may include, for example, the location of thefirst A/V doorbell. The location may comprise the street address of abuilding with which the first A/V doorbell is associated, such as beingsecured thereto, for example. At block B780, the network may furtherreceive from the user's client device, an enable signal for the videosharing feature of the first A/V doorbell. For example, during the setupprocess the user may enable (turn on) the video sharing feature using aGUI such as that illustrated in FIG. 31. In some embodiments, the videosharing feature may be enabled by default, such that the user does nothave to take any affirmative steps to enable the video sharing feature.

With further reference to FIG. 37, at block B782 the network may furtherreceive from the user's client device a notification distance (alertradius) associated with the video sharing feature of the first A/Vdoorbell. For example, during the setup process the user may select analert radius using a GUI such as that illustrated in FIG. 31. In someembodiments, the alert radius may be set automatically to a defaultvalue, or may be set automatically according to the criteria describedabove, such that the user does not have to take any affirmative steps toset the alert radius. At block B784, the network may update one or moredata structures (alert areas) with the information received about thefirst A/V doorbell, including its location and/or its alert radius.

The alert radius defines an area around the first A/V doorbell thatencompasses at least one other A/V recording and communication device,which in this example will be referred to as second A/V doorbell. Thesecond A/V doorbell may record video footage, and the user associatedwith the second A/V doorbell may share the recorded video footageaccording to a process described herein. Thus, with further reference toFIG. 35, at block B786 the network may receive from the second clientdevice a share signal. The network, after determining, at block B788,that the second A/V doorbell is within the alert area defined around thefirst A/V doorbell, may then send a share notification signal to theclient device associated with the first A/V doorbell at block B790. Atblock B796, the network receives a playback request signal from thefirst client device. At block B798, the network transmits a video signalto the first client device.

FIG. 38 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system 800 forsharing video footage from audio/video recording and communicationdevices according to the present embodiments. The system 800 maycomprise a backend API 802 including one or more components. A backendAPI (application programming interface) may comprise, for example, aserver (e.g. a real server, or a virtual machine, or a machine runningin a cloud infrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networkedtogether, exposing at least one API to client(s) accessing it. Theseservers may include components such as application servers (e.g.software servers), depending upon what other components are included,such as a caching layer, or database layers, or other components. Abackend API may, for example, comprise many such applications, each ofwhich communicate with one another using their public APIs. In someembodiments, the API backend may hold the bulk of the user data andoffer the user management capabilities, leaving the clients to have verylimited state.

The backend API 802 illustrated FIG. 38 may include one or more APIs804. An API is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for buildingsoftware and applications. An API expresses a software component interms of its operations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types, definingfunctionalities that are independent of their respectiveimplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to varywithout compromising the interface. Advantageously, an API may provide aprogrammer with access to an application's functionality without theprogrammer needing to modify the application itself, or even understandhow the application works. An API may be for a web-based system, anoperating system, or a database system, and it provides facilities todevelop applications for that system using a given programming language.In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware like hard diskdrives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUIcomponents. For example, an API can facilitate integration of newfeatures into existing applications (a so-called “plug-in API”). An APIcan also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, whichcan help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of theapplications.

The backend API 802 illustrated in FIG. 38 may further include one ormore services 806, 808 (also referred to as network services). A networkservice is an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component running on one or more computers (such as a dedicatedserver computer offering multiple services) and accessed via a networkby client components running on other devices. However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

The backend API 802 illustrated in FIG. 38 includes an alert areasservice 806. The alert areas service 806 may comprise one or more datastructures 810 storing information about a plurality of A/V recordingand communication devices. For example, the information may include thelocation of each device (such as the street address of each device), andthe size of the alert radius around each device. The alert areas service806 may access the information in the data structure(s) 810 when neededto determine which users will receive a share notification when a firstuser shares recorded video footage, as further described below. Thealert areas service 806 may also maintain the information in the datastructure(s) 810 and update the information in the data structure(s) 810when new A/V recording and communication devices are activated, whenexisting A/V recording and communication devices are deactivated, and/orwhen the alert radii around existing A/V recording and communicationdevices are changed.

In the system 800 of FIG. 38, a first A/V recording and communicationdevice 812 (A/V Doorbell 812 #1) may record video footage, which mayalso include audio. The doorbell 812 sends a first alert signal and afirst video signal 814 to the API 804, and the API 804 receives thefirst alert signal and the first video signal 814. The first videosignal includes images (the video footage) captured by a camera of thedoorbell 812. The API 804 transmits to a first client device 816 (User'sClient Device #1), in response to receiving the first alert signal andthe first video signal 814, a second alert signal and a second videosignal 818. The second alert signal may be, for example, a pushnotification. The second video signal includes the images captured bythe camera of the doorbell 812. The user associated with the firstclient device 816 may be the owner/user of the doorbell 812 (A/VDoorbell #1). The user, upon receiving the second alert signal, maychoose to answer the second alert signal, which may, for example, open alive call between the user and the visitor at the doorbell 812.Alternatively, the user may ignore the second alert signal (e.g. choosenot to answer the call). If the user ignores the second alert signal, heor she may still view the video footage of the second video signal at alater time. After viewing (or while viewing) the video footage on thedisplay of his or her client device 816, the user may decide to sharethe video footage with other users. For example, the user may tap a“share” button from within an application executing on his or her clientdevice 816. The first client device 816 then sends a share signal 820 tothe API 804, and the API 804 receives the share signal 820 from thefirst client device 816. The share signal 820 may include textdescribing the images captured by the camera of the doorbell 812 (A/VDoorbell #1). In response to receiving the share signal 820 from thefirst client device 816, the API 804 sends identifying information 822to the alert areas service 806. For example, the identifying information822 may include an identifier for the user associated with A/V Doorbell#1 and an identifier for the video footage that is to be shared withother users. Alternatively, the identifying information 822 may includean identifier for A/V Doorbell #1 (rather than an identifier for theuser associated with A/V Doorbell #1) and an identifier for the videofootage that is to be shared with other users. The alert areas service806 accesses the alert areas data structure(s) 810 and determines, basedon the identifying information 822, the other users who are to receive anotification of the shared video footage. For example, the alert areasservice 806, using the information stored in the alert areas datastructure(s) 810 may determine that A/V Doorbell #1 812 is within thealert radius defined around at least one other A/V recording andcommunication device. Once the other device(s) has/have been identified,the alert areas service 806 may transmit a share notification signal 824to a push notification service 808. The share notification signal 824may include the text describing the images captured by the camera of thedoorbell 812 (A/V Doorbell #1). The push notification service 808 maythen forward one or more push notifications 825 to a plurality ofprovider push notification services 826. The provider push notificationservices 826 are configured to send push notifications to client devicesthat run different operating systems. For example, Android devices mayreceive push notifications from an Android push notification service826, while iOS devices may receive push notifications from an iOS pushnotification service 826. Android is a mobile operating system (OS)developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel. iOS, by contrast, is amobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. anddistributed exclusively for Apple hardware. The provider pushnotification services 826 then send push notifications 828 to the clientdevices 830 associated with the other doorbell(s) identified by thealert areas service 806. The other user(s), upon receiving the pushnotifications 828, may choose to view the shared video footage.Alternatively, the other user(s) may ignore the push notifications 828.If the other user(s) ignores the push notifications 828, he or she maystill view the shared video footage at a later time. In either event(viewing the shared video footage right away or viewing the shared videofootage at a later time), one or more of the client devices 830 sends aplayback request signal (not shown) to the backend API 802 (and thebackend API 802 receives the playback request signal from the one ormore of the client devices 830). In response to receiving the playbackrequest signal from the one or more of the client devices 830, thebackend API 802 transmits a video signal (not shown) to the one or moreof the client devices 830. The video signal includes the shared videofootage. In certain embodiments, the alert areas service 806 may receivethe playback request signal from the one or more of the client devices830 and transmit the video signal to the one or more of the clientdevices 830. If the other user(s) opens the push notification, which maycontain a reference to the shared video footage, the other user(s)client device(s) 830 may use the API 804 to get the URL (UniformResource Locator) of the shared video footage and any other metadata (ifany) about the shared video footage so that the shared video footage canbe played back. If the other user(s) opens the shared video footage fromthe NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVITY screen 716 (FIG. 29), a similar process mayoccur, but the reference to the shared video footage may be in theactivity feed item.

In some embodiments, an A/V recording and communication device may beginrecording video footage not in response to a visitor being detected, butrather when a user accesses the camera of the device to view live videofootage using his or her client device (e.g. “on-demand” viewing). Insuch embodiments, a process for sharing a video may include a step ofthe user accessing the camera of the device to view live video footageusing his or her client device (e.g. “on-demand” viewing), followed bythe user sharing the live video footage. For example, the user mayselect a share button from within an application executing on the user'sclient device (similar to the share button 584 described above withrespect to FIGS. 15 and 16), and a share signal may then be sent fromthe user's client device and received by the network device(s) (similarto step 548 described above with respect to FIG. 13), and a sharenotification signal may then be sent from the network device(s) andreceived by another client device(s) (similar to step 550 describedabove with respect to FIG. 13). Example embodiments of video-on-demandare described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 62/267,762 and62/289,114, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties as if fully set forth.

As described above, the present embodiments advantageously enable usersof A/V recording and communication devices to share video footage withone another. This feature can help reduce crime by increasing publicawareness of suspicious activity. Users can tailor the number andfrequency of alerts (notifications of shared videos) they receive byincreasing and decreasing the size of the alert radius around their ownA/V recording and communication device(s). Users will only receivealerts that result from videos recorded by other A/V recording andcommunication devices that are located within the alert area that theuser has set. Users may share videos as frequently or as infrequently asdesired, and users may view shared videos from other users as frequentlyor as infrequently as desired. When a user receives an alert, he or shecan choose to view the accompanying video immediately, or to ignore thealert. If the user ignores the alert, he or she can still view the videoat a later time using one or more menu screens within an applicationexecuting on the user's client device. The present embodiments thusadvantageously provide a tool that can be used to reduce crime rates andthat can be tailored by each user to meet his or her personalpreferences.

The present embodiments describe numerous ways for sharing videos,including via social media and/or social network(s). A social networkmay comprise a third-party network, such as NEXTDOOR®, FACEBOOK®,INSTAGRAM®, TWITTER®, etc. A social network may also comprise a networkmade up of users of A/V recording and communication devices, such asvideo doorbells and security cameras. For example, when a user shares avideo via the neighborhood share button 584 described above with respectto FIGS. 15, 16, 20, and 21, the video is shared with a social networkin which the members of the social network are users who have A/Vrecording and communication devices, such as video doorbells andsecurity cameras. The present embodiments are not limited to anyparticular kind or type of social network. Further, participants in thesocial network are not limited to users of A/V recording andcommunication devices of any particular kind or type.

In the present embodiments, some steps shown in one or more of thesequence diagrams and/or flowcharts may be omitted. For example, in theprocess for sharing video footage from a first A/V recording andcommunication device, such as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, for example, thesteps of transmitting/receiving the first alert signal and the firstvideo signal and transmitting/receiving the second alert signal and thesecond video signal may be omitted. Such an embodiment might comprise,therefore, just the steps of transmitting/receiving the share signaltransmitting/receiving the share notification signal.

FIG. 39 is a functional block diagram of a client device 850 on whichthe present embodiments may be implemented according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. The user's client device 114 described withreference to FIG. 1 may include some or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 850. The client device 850 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc.

With reference to FIG. 39, the client device 850 includes a processor852, a memory 854, a user interface 856, a communication module 858, anda dataport 860. These components are communicatively coupled together byan interconnect bus 862. The processor 852 may include any processorused in smartphones and/or portable computing devices, such as an ARMprocessor (a processor based on the RISC (reduced instruction setcomputer) architecture developed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM).). Insome embodiments, the processor 852 may include one or more otherprocessors, such as one or more conventional microprocessors, and/or oneor more supplementary co-processors, such as math co-processors.

The memory 854 may include both operating memory, such as random accessmemory (RAM), as well as data storage, such as read-only memory (ROM),hard drives, flash memory, or any other suitable memory/storage element.The memory 854 may include removable memory elements, such as aCompactFlash card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and/or a Secure Digital (SD)card. In some embodiments, the memory 854 may comprise a combination ofmagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, forexample, RAM, ROM, flash drive, and/or a hard disk or drive. Theprocessor 852 and the memory 854 each may be, for example, locatedentirely within a single device, or may be connected to each other by acommunication medium, such as a USB port, a serial port cable, a coaxialcable, an Ethernet-type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequencytransceiver, or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination ofthe foregoing. For example, the processor 852 may be connected to thememory 854 via the dataport 860.

The user interface 856 may include any user interface or presentationelements suitable for a smartphone and/or a portable computing device,such as a keypad, a display screen, a touchscreen, a microphone, and aspeaker. The communication module 858 is configured to handlecommunication links between the client device 850 and other, externaldevices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately.For example, inbound data from the dataport 860 may be routed throughthe communication module 858 before being directed to the processor 852,and outbound data from the processor 852 may be routed through thecommunication module 858 before being directed to the dataport 860. Thecommunication module 858 may include one or more transceiver modulescapable of transmitting and receiving data, and using, for example, oneor more protocols and/or technologies, such as GSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95(CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA, TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, or any other protocol and/or technology.

The dataport 860 may be any type of connector used for physicallyinterfacing with a smartphone and/or a portable computing device, suchas a mini-USB port or an IPHONE®/IPOD® 30-pin connector or LIGHTNING®connector. In other embodiments, the dataport 860 may include multiplecommunication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example,other processors, servers, and/or client terminals.

The memory 854 may store instructions for communicating with othersystems, such as a computer. The memory 854 may store, for example, aprogram (e.g., computer program code) adapted to direct the processor852 in accordance with the present embodiments. The instructions alsomay include program elements, such as an operating system. Whileexecution of sequences of instructions in the program causes theprocessor 852 to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with,software/firmware instructions for implementation of the processes ofthe present embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 40 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. The computer system 900 mayexecute at least some of the operations described above. The computersystem 900 may be embodied in at least one of a personal computer (alsoreferred to as a desktop computer) 900A, a portable computer (alsoreferred to as a laptop or notebook computer) 900B, and/or a server900C. A server is a computer program and/or a machine that waits forrequests from other machines or software (clients) and responds to them.A server typically processes data. The purpose of a server is to sharedata and/or hardware and/or software resources among clients. Thisarchitecture is called the client—server model. The clients may run onthe same computer or may connect to the server over a network. Examplesof computing servers include database servers, file servers, mailservers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and applicationservers. The term server may be construed broadly to include anycomputerized process that shares a resource to one or more clientprocesses.

The computer system 900 may include at least one processor 910, memory920, at least one storage device 930, and input/output (I/O) devices940. Some or all of the components 910, 920, 930, 940 may beinterconnected via a system bus 950. The processor 910 may be single- ormulti-threaded and may have one or more cores. The processor 910 mayexecute instructions, such as those stored in the memory 920 and/or inthe storage device 930. Information may be received and output using oneor more I/O devices 940.

The memory 920 may store information, and may be a computer-readablemedium, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device(s)930 may provide storage for the system 900, and may be acomputer-readable medium. In various aspects, the storage device(s) 930may be a flash memory device, a hard disk device, an optical diskdevice, a tape device, or any other type of storage device.

The I/O devices 940 may provide input/output operations for the system900. The I/O devices 940 may include a keyboard, a pointing device,and/or a microphone. The I/O devices 940 may further include a displayunit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker, and/or aprinter. External data may be stored in one or more accessible externaldatabases 960.

In some embodiments, users may tag or categorize their videos whensharing them with other users, and users may set one or more preferencesfor the type(s) of videos for which they want to receive sharenotifications. For example, FIG. 41 illustrates an embodiment of agraphical user interface (GUI) 970 for setting one or more userpreferences for the type(s) of videos for which the user wants toreceive share notifications. The Neighborhood Alert Settings screen 970includes a list 972 having a plurality of categories, including, forexample, SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 974, BURGLARY 976, ATTEMPTED BURGLARY 978,VANDALISM 980, THEFT 982, and OTHER 984. By selecting one or more of thelisted categories, a user may limit the type(s) of videos that will beshared with that user. For example, the user may only receive sharenotifications for shared videos that fall within one or more of thecategories that the user has selected. A GUI (not shown) similar to thatshown in FIG. 41 may be provided to users during the video sharingprocess, so that the shared videos can be tagged or categorized. In someembodiments, a user may choose not to categorize a shared video. In someembodiments, a user who has set preferences for the types of videos heor she wants to be notified about may receive share notifications foruncategorized shared videos. In alternative embodiments, a user who hasset preferences for the types of videos he or she wants to be notifiedabout may not receive share notifications for uncategorized sharedvideos.

In some embodiments, users may be able to view shared videos regardlessof where their own A/V recording and communication devices are located.In still further embodiments, even users who do not even own any A/Vrecording and communication devices may be able to view shared videos.For example, shared videos may be available through a publiclyaccessible forum, such as a website. In another example, shared videosmay be accessed by users running an application on their client devices.A user sharing a video may have the option to make the shared videoavailable to the public, or to restrict the shared video to only thoseusers identified through the processes described above, such as theprocesses of FIGS. 11-14. In still further embodiments, a user may beable to view shared videos from any area the user specifies by selectinga location on a map and specifying an alert radius around the location.In still further embodiments, a user may enable “alerts around me.” Thisfeature may work in real-time to provide the user with alerts fromwithin a given radius of the user's current location. The user's currentlocation may be determined, for example, using GPS technology and theuser's mobile client device, such as a smartphone.

In some embodiments, shared videos may be accessed by law enforcementagencies. For example, a user sharing a video may have the option tomake the shared video available to law enforcement through a web portal.Law enforcement may be able to log in through the web portal to view theshared videos. For example, the web portal may include a map viewindicating the locations of all of the shared videos. The map view mayinclude selectable markers or icons corresponding to the locations ofthe shared videos. Selecting one of the icons may open a video playerand begin playback of the shared video corresponding to the selectedicon. Different law enforcement agencies, departments, or groups mayhave different logins that grant access to specific zones, such asgeographic locations that are within the jurisdiction of each agency,department, or group.

In some embodiments, users may be able to block videos from certainother users and/or from certain locations.

In some embodiments, when a user attempts to share a video, the videomay undergo a review before being shared with other users. For example,with reference to FIG. 18, when the network 542 receives the sharesignal 548, an administrator may subsequently review the video beforethe share notification signal 550 may be sent to any client devices ofother users. If the video violates any policies, the administrator mayprevent the share notification signal 550 from being sent to any clientdevices of other users. A notification, such as an e-mail, may be sentto the user who shared the video explaining that the video did notcomply with one or more policies or guidelines. The requirement foradministrator review may apply to all users, or selectively to only someusers, such as users who have attempted to share one or moreinappropriate videos. In further embodiments, an administrator may ban auser from sharing videos, such as for repeated policy violations (suchas attempting to share one or more inappropriate videos).

As described above, another aspect of the present embodiments includesthe realization that a person and/or an object of interest is typicallynot stationary. For example, when an A/V recording and communicationdevice records video footage of suspicious and/or criminal activity, thesuspect in the video footage is likely to be moving. The sharing of suchvideo footage may alert neighbors to the potential dangers, particularlybecause the suspect may still be in the vicinity (e.g., theneighborhood). It would be advantageous then to enhance thefunctionality of A/V recording and communication devices by using sharedvideo footage to identify one or more cameras to power up and recordadditional video footage. For example, a neighborhood may includemultiple camera devices such as (but not limited to) first cameras andsecond cameras of various A/V recording and communication devices, andone or more of the second cameras may be configured to power up andcapture additional image (and, in some embodiments, audio data) based onshared video footage from a first camera. Further, the functionality ofA/V recording and communication devices may be enhanced by using anyreport of a crime from any source to power up one or more cameras tocapture image and/or audio data. Moreover, the present embodimentsimprove upon and solve the problem of resource management by using apower-up command signal to configure the one or more cameras to switchfrom a low-power state to a powered-on state, thereby, conserving power.The present embodiments provide these advantages, as described below.

In one example use case, a camera of an A/V recording and communicationdevice or a client device may record video footage of a criminal act, oranother type of event that may be of interest to one or more users. Thevideo footage may include audio recorded contemporaneously with thevideo by a microphone of the A/V recording and communication device orthe client device, although in some embodiments the video footage maynot include audio. A first user, using an application executing on aclient device, may share the video footage (with the audio, ifavailable) to a network of users. For example, the network of users maycomprise users who own at least one A/V recording and communicationdevice, such as a video doorbell. In another example, the network ofusers may comprise some users who own at least one A/V recording andcommunication device, such as a video doorbell, and some users who donot own such a device. In another example, the network of users maycomprise users who do not own any A/V recording and communicationdevices, including video doorbells. In some embodiments, the first usermay provide textual information about the shared video footage, such asa description of the person(s) and/or event(s) depicted in the sharedvideo footage. The first user may, for example, enter the textualinformation about the shared video footage using a keyboard or otherinput device (e.g., speech-to-text processing) of the client device.This text data, if provided, may also be shared with the network ofusers in connection with the shared video footage. The shared videofootage (and audio and/or text data, if provided) may be received by oneor more backend devices in the network, such as one or more servers,APIs, databases, etc. Upon receiving the shared video footage, the oneor more backend devices may identify second cameras and/or cameras ofother A/V recording and communication devices to power up and captureadditional image and/or audio data. Further, the one or more backenddevices may be configured to receive a report of a crime (may also bereferred to as a crime report signal) from any device in networkcommunication with the one or more backend devices and, in response toreceiving the crime report signal, identify second cameras and/orcameras of A/V recording and communication devices to power up andcapture image and/or audio data.

The shared video footage and/or the crime report signal may includelocation information that may be used by the backend devices to identifythe one or more cameras to power up. For example, the first user mayinclude a geographic location where the video footage shared by thefirst user was recorded. In another example, the shared video footagemay include metadata that provides a geographic location where the videofootage shared by the first user was recorded. In a further example, theshared video footage may be analyzed using a computer vision (or thelike) process for street signage, landmarks, and/or any other identifierof a geographic location. Using the geographic location, the backenddevices may identify second camera(s) and/or A/V recording andcommunication devices within a predetermined distance from thegeographic location. The backend devices may generate and transmit apower-up command signal to the additional cameras to power up andcapture video and/or audio data. The additional video and/or audio mightcapture (record) the suspect, which may be useful to law enforcement inapprehending the suspect.

In any of the present embodiments, the shared video footage may berecorded by any type of device having a camera, including, but notlimited to, an A/V recording and communication device such as a videodoorbell, or a client device such as a smartphone. Further, in someembodiments, the shared video footage may comprise only a single frameof video or a still image. In embodiments in which the shared videofootage is recorded by a client device, the client device may beassociated with an A/V recording and communication device such as avideo doorbell. For example, the client device may receive alerts fromthe A/V recording and communication device in a similar manner asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1. In other embodiments, however,in which the shared video footage is recorded by a client device, theclient device may not be associated with any A/V recording andcommunication devices. The present embodiments are thus not limited tonetworks that include A/V recording and communication devices, nor arethe present embodiments limited to use by users who own A/V recordingand communication devices. That is, any user who has a device with acamera may join and participate in the network. Further, even users withnon-camera devices may join and participate in the network. For example,a user may join and participate in the network by providing informationthat may be included in a crime report signal. Still further, users withcamera devices may participate in the network in one or more ways thatdo not include the camera. For example, for non-camera devices, as wellas for camera devices, the type of content/data/information shared withthe network may comprise only audio data, or only text data, or audiodata combined with text data.

FIG. 42 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system 1000 forcommunicating in a network using a share signal. As described above, afirst client device may share a video, audio, and/or text using a sharesignal, and the network may receive the share signal. As furtherdescribed below, the network may include one or more backend devicessuch as (but not limited to) a backend server that may be configured toreceive the share signal and identify one or more second cameras topower up and capture second image data. In other embodiments, thebackend server may be configured to receive the share signal andidentify a first camera of a second A/V recording and communicationdevice to power up and capture first image data. In many embodiments,the backend server may also be configured to receive a crime reportsignal from any device in network communication with the backend serversuch as (but not limited to) law enforcement devices, third-partydevices, and/or various user devices. Upon receiving the crime reportsignal, the backend server may be configured to identify one or moresecond cameras to power up and capture second image data, as furtherdescribed below. In other embodiments, the backend server may also beconfigured to receive the crime report signal and identify a firstcamera of an A/V recording and communication device to power up andcapture first image data.

In various embodiments, a crime report signal may include any video,audio, and/or text data that provides information regarding a possiblecrime, suspect, and/or location. Further, a crime report signal may beshared by a user or a non-user of an A/V recording and communicationdevice. For example, a witness may capture video and/or audio of a crimein progress and share such information with a network of users using acrime report signal. In another example, the witness may not have videoor audio of the crime to share, but may share text data, such as adescription of the perpetrator, the crime, and/or the location. In otherexamples, a law enforcement agency may send out a crime report signal toa network of users based on information that the law enforcement agencyhas gathered regarding a possible crime and/or a suspect. In someembodiments, the crime report signal may include information regarding acrime and/or suspect shared via social media and/or social network(s).For example, the backend devices such as the backend server may receivethe crime report signal from third-party social networks that mayinclude any social media service or platform that uses computer-mediatedtools that allow participants to create, share, and/or exchangeinformation in virtual communities and/or networks, such as (but notlimited to) social networking websites and/or applications running onparticipant devices. Non-limiting examples of social networks includeNEXTDOOR®, FACEBOOK®, INSTAGRAM®, SNAPCHAT®, TWITTER®, etc. In someembodiments, the backend devices such as the backend server may receivethe crime report signals from third parties, such as the general public,where a member of the public may transmit a signal that includesinformation about an event that the member of the public witnessed, suchas (but not limited to) a possible crime using their third-party device,such as, but not limited to, a smartphone, where the signal transmittedby the member of the public may include image data, audio data, and/ortext data.

In reference to FIG. 42, the system 1000 may include one or more firstaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices 1002 configured toaccess a first user's network 1008 to connect to a network(Internet/PSTN) 1010. The system 1000 may also include one or more firstclient devices 1004, 1006, which in various embodiments may beconfigured to be in network communication with the first A/V recordingand communication device 1002. The first client devices 1004, 1006 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The first client devices 1004, 1006 may include any orall of the components and/or functionality of the client device 114and/or the client device 850 described herein. In some embodiments, thefirst client devices 1004, 1006 may not be associated with a first A/Vrecording and communication device, as described above.

In various embodiments, the system 1000 may also include one or moresecond A/V recording and communication devices 1012 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 1010 using a second user's network 1018. Thesystem 1000 may further include one or more second client devices 1014,1016, which in various embodiments may be configured to be in networkcommunication with the second A/V recording and communication device1012. The second client devices 1014, 1016 may comprise, for example, amobile phone such as a smartphone, or a computing device such as atablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. The secondclient devices 1014, 1016 may include any or all of the componentsand/or functionality of the client device 114 and/or the client device850 described herein. In some embodiments, the second client devices1014, 1016 may not be associated with a second A/V recording andcommunication device, as described above. The system 1000 may alsoinclude one or more second cameras 1011 connected to the network(Internet/PTSN) 1010 using the second user's network 1018. The one ormore second cameras 1011 may also be configured to be in networkcommunication with the second client devices 1014, 1016 and/or thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1012. In some embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1011 and a first camera of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 may be configured to power upand capture image data based on a shared signal, as further describedbelow. In other embodiments, the second camera 1011 and/or the firstcamera of the second A/V recording and communication device 1012 may beconfigured to power up and capture image data based on a crime reportsignal from any device in network communication with a backend server1032 such as (but not limited to) third-party client devices 1022, 1024and/or various other devices, as further described below.

In some embodiments, the system 1000 may also include one or morethird-party A/V recording and communication devices 1020 connected tothe network (Internet/PSTN) 1010 using various third-party networks 1026such as a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobilenetwork and/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernetnetwork, a public network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any otherappropriate network to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 1010. Thesystem 1000 may further include one or more third-party client devices1022, 1024, which in various embodiments may be configured to be innetwork communication with the third-party A/V recording andcommunication device 1020. The third-party client devices 1022, 1024 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The third-party client devices 1022, 1024 may include anyor all of the components and/or functionality of the client device 114and/or the client device 850 described herein. In some embodiments, thethird-party client devices 1022, 1024 may not be associated with athird-party A/V recording and communication device, as described above.The system 1000 may also include one or more second cameras 1021connected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 1010 using the variousthird-party networks 1026. The one or more second cameras 1021 may alsobe configured to be in network communication with the third clientdevices 1022, 1024 and/or the third A/V recording and communicationdevice 1020. In many embodiments, the one or more second cameras 1021and/or a first camera of the third-party A/V recording and communication1020 may be configured to power up and capture image data based on theshare signal from the first client device(s) 1004, 1006, as furtherdescribed below. In other embodiments, the one or more second cameras1021 and the first camera of the third-party A/V recording andcommunication device(s) 1020 may be configured to power up and captureimage data based on the crime report signal from any device in networkcommunication with a backend server 1032 such as (but not limited to)law enforcement devices and/or various user devices, as furtherdescribed below.

In some embodiments, the system 1000 may also include one or more secondcameras 1013 connected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 1010 using variousaccess points such as (but not limited to) a cellular/mobile network1019, a local network, a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi network, apublic network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any other appropriatenetwork to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 1010. In some embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1013 may be configured to be part of alocal network and associated with one or more client devices and/or oneor more A/V recording and communication devices. In many embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1013, associated devices, and A/Vrecording and communication devices may be controlled by anadministrator.

With further reference to FIG. 42, the system 1000 may also includevarious backend devices such as (but not limited to) storage devices1032, backend servers 1030, and backend APIs 1028 in networkcommunication with the first, second, and third-party A/V communicationdevices 1002, 1012, 1020, their respective client devices 1004, 1006,1014, 1016, 1022, 1024, and the one or more second cameras 1011, 1013,1021. The backend servers 1030 may be configured to receive a sharesignal from the first client device(s) 1002, 1004, as described above.In many embodiments, the backend servers 1030 may be configured toidentify second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or first cameras of A/Vrecording and communication devices 1012, 1020 to power up and captureimage data based on the share signal. In some embodiments, the backendservers 1030 may be configured to receive a crime report signal from anydevice in network communication such as (but not limited to) third-partydevices 1022, 2024, law enforcement devices, and/or various users'devices 1004, 1006, 1014, 1016. In many embodiments, the backend servers1030 may be configured to identify second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021and/or first cameras of A/V recording and communication devices 1002,1012, 1020 to power up and capture image data based on the crime reportsignal.

In some embodiments, the storage devices 1032 may be a separate devicefrom the backend servers 1030 (as illustrated) or may be an integralcomponent of the backend servers 1030. In addition, the first user'snetwork 1008 and the network 1010 may be similar in structure and/orfunction to the user's network 110 and the network (Internet/PSTN) 112(FIG. 1), respectively. In some embodiments, the first and second A/Vrecording and communication devices 1002, 1012 may be similar instructure and/or function to the A/V doorbell 100 (FIG. 1) and/or theA/V recording and communication doorbell 130 (FIG. 3) and/or the A/Vrecording and communication floodlight controller 100, (FIG. 9). In someembodiments, the first user's client devices 1004, 1006 may be similarin structure and/or function to the user's client device 114 (FIG. 1)and/or the user's client device 850 (FIG. 39). The second user's clientdevices 1014, 1016 may also be similar in structure and/or function tothe user's client device 114 (FIG. 1) and/or the user's client device850 (FIG. 39). Also, the storage devices 1032 may be similar instructure and/or function to the storage device 116 (FIG. 1). Inaddition, in some embodiments, the backend servers 1030 and backend APIs1028 may be similar in structure and/or function to the server 118 andthe backend API 120 (FIG. 1), respectively.

FIG. 43 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thefirst A/V recording and communication device 1002 according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. The first A/V recording andcommunication device 1002 may comprise a processing module 1050 that isoperatively connected to a first camera 1040, a microphone 1042, aspeaker 1044, and a communication module 1046. The processing module1050 may comprise a processor 1052, volatile memory 1054, andnon-volatile memory 1056 that includes a camera application 1058. Invarious embodiments, the camera application 1058 may configure theprocessor 1052 to capture first image data 1060 using the first camera1040 and first audio data 1062 using the microphone 1042. In variousembodiments, the first camera 1040 may be configured to capture thefirst image data 1060 at a first resolution. In some embodiments, thecamera application 1058 may also configure the processor 1052 togenerate text data 1064 describing the first image data 1060. In otherembodiments, the text data 1064 describing the first image data 1060 maybe generated by a user using the first client device 1004, 1006associated with the first A/V recording and communication device 1002,as described above. In addition, the camera application 1058 mayconfigure the processor 1052 to transmit the first image data 1060, thefirst audio data 1062, and/or the text data 1064 to the first clientdevice 1004, 1006 using the communication module 1046. In someembodiments, the first client device 1004, 1006 may generate andtransmit a share signal 1048 using the first image data 1060, the firstaudio data 1062, and/or the text data 1064 to the backend server 1030,as described above. In other embodiments, the camera application 1058may configure the processor 1052 to directly generate and transmit ashare signal 1048 using the first image data 1060, the first audio data1062, and/or the text data 1064 to the backend server 1030 using thecommunication module 1046. As further described below, the share signal1048 may be received by the backend server 1030 for powering up secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or first cameras of other A/V recordingand communication devices 1012, 1020 in network communication with thebackend server 1030.

FIG. 44 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thesecond camera 1011, 1013, 1021 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, the second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021 may be a standalone unit (as illustrated) or an integral partof another device, such as an A/V recording and communication device orA/V recording and communication doorbell. Further, the second camera(s)1011, 1013, 1021 may have its own processing capabilities (asillustrated) or may be controlled and configured by a separateprocessing module (not illustrated). In addition, the one or more secondcamera(s) 1011, 1021 may be part of a user's network in networkcommunication with associated client devices and/or A/V recording andcommunication devices. In other embodiments, the second camera(s) 1013may not be in network communication with a user's client devices or A/Vrecording and communication devices. As described above, the secondcamera(s) 1013 may be in network communication with and configured by anadministrator's client device and/or the backend server 1030.

In further reference to FIG. 44, the one or more second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021 may include a communication module 1076 for networkcommunication with the backend server 1030. In some embodiments, thesecond camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may include a processing module 1080comprising an image sensor 1081, a processor 1082, volatile memory 1084,and non-volatile memory 1086. The non-volatile memory 1086 may comprisea camera application 1088 that configures the processor 1082 to receivea power-up command signal 1114 from the backend server 1030 using thecommunication module 1076, and power up to capture second image data1090 using the image sensor 1081, as further described below. In someembodiments, the camera application 1088 may configure the processor to1082 to generate an output signal 1094 using the second image data 1090and transmit the output signal 1094 to the backend server 1030, asfurther described below. In some embodiments, the received power-upcommand signal 1114, second image data 1090 and/or the output signal1094 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 1080. In variousembodiments, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may be configured tocapture the second image data 1090 at a second resolution. In addition,the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may also include at least onesolar panel 1078 as a power source.

As described above, in reference to FIGS. 43 and 44, the first camera1040 of the first A/V recording and communication device 1002 may beconfigured to capture first image data 1060 at a first resolution.Further, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may be configured tocapture second image data 1090 at a second resolution. In manyembodiments, the first resolution and the second resolution may bedifferent. In some embodiments, the first resolution may be higher thanthe second resolution, or vice versa. The different resolutions of thefirst camera 1040 and the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may resultin the lower resolution camera also consuming less power than the higherresolution camera. In alternative embodiments, the first camera 1040 mayconsume less power than the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 even ifthe difference in power consumption is unrelated to the resolution(s) ofthe two cameras. For example, in some embodiments the first camera 1040and the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may have similar (or the same)resolution, but one of the cameras may consume less power than the othercamera.

FIG. 45 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1012 according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. The second A/V recording andcommunication device 1012 may comprise a processing module 1051 that isoperatively connected to a first camera 1041, a microphone 1043, aspeaker 1045, and a communication module 1047. The processing module1051 may comprise a processor 1053, volatile memory 1055, andnon-volatile memory 1057 that includes a camera application 1059. Invarious embodiments, the camera application 1059 may configure theprocessor 1053 to maintain the first camera 1041 in a low-power stateand power-up upon receiving a power-up command signal 1114, as furtherdescribed below. In various embodiments, the first camera 1041 may powerup and capture first image data 1061 using the first camera 1041 andfirst audio data 1063 using the microphone 1043. In some embodiments,the first camera 1041 may be configured to capture the first image data1061 at a first resolution. In addition, the camera application 1059 mayconfigure the processor 1053 to transmit the first image data 1061and/or the first audio data 1063 to the backend server 1030 using thecommunication module 1047. In some embodiments, the camera application1059 may configure the processor 1053 to generate and transmit an outputsignal 1065 using the first image data 1061 and/or the first audio data1063 to the backend server 1030.

In reference to FIGS. 43, 44, and 45, the image data 1060, 1061, 1090may comprise image sensor data such as (but not limited to) exposurevalues and data regarding pixel values for a particular sized grid.Further, image data may comprise converted image sensor data forstandard image file formats such as (but not limited to) JPEG, JPEG2000, TIFF, BMP, or PNG. In addition, image data may also comprise datarelated to video, where such data may include (but is not limited to)image sequences, frame rates, and the like. Moreover, image data mayinclude data that is analog, digital, uncompressed, compressed, and/orin vector formats. Image data may take on various forms and formats asappropriate to the requirements of a specific application in accordancewith the present embodiments. As described herein, the term “record” mayalso be referred to as “capture” as appropriate to the requirements of aspecific application in accordance with the present embodiments. Inaddition, a communication module, such as the communication modules1046, 1047, 1076 may comprise (but is not limited to) one or moretransceivers and/or wireless antennas (not shown) configured to transmitand receive wireless signals. In further embodiments, the communicationmodules 1046, 1047, 1076 may comprise (but are not limited to) one ormore transceivers configured to transmit and receive wired and/orwireless signals.

FIG. 46 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of abackend server 1030 according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The backend server 1030 may comprise a processing module1100 comprising a processor 1102, volatile memory 1104, networkinterface 1119, and non-volatile memory 1106. The network interface 1119may allow the backend server 1030 to access and communicate with devicesconnected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 1010 (FIG. 42). Thenon-volatile memory 1106 may include a server application 1108 thatconfigures the processor 1102 to receive the share signal 1048 andgenerate a power-up command signal 1114. The server application 1108 mayalso configure the processor 1102 to identify second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021 and/or a first camera of a second A/V recording andcommunication devices 1012 to power up and capture image data, asfurther described below. In various embodiments, the share signal 1048may include first image data 1060, first audio data 1062, and/or textdata 1068 received from the first client device 1004, 1006 and/or thefirst A/V recording and communication device 1002. Further, thenon-volatile memory 1106 may include an output signal 1094 that includesthe second image data 1090 received from the second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021. In addition, the non-volatile memory 1106 may include anoutput signal 1065 that includes the first image data 1061 received fromthe second A/V recording and communication device 1012. In someembodiments, the server application 1108 may also configure theprocessor 1102 to receive a crime report signal 1092 and generate thepower-up command signal 1114. The server application 1108 may furtherconfigure the processor 1102 to identify the first camera of second A/Vrecording and communication devices 1012 and/or second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021 to power up and capture first data 1060 and/or second imagedata 1090, respectively, as further described below. In someembodiments, the crime report signal 1092 may configure the processor1102 to power up additional first cameras of other A/V recording andcommunication devices such as (but not limited to) the first A/Vrecording and communication device 1002 and/or the third-party A/Vrecording and communication device 1020 to power up and capture imagedata.

In further reference to FIG. 46, the non-volatile memory 1106 may alsoinclude location data 1110 that may be used to determine locations ofthe first A/V recording and communication device 1002, the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012, the second camera(s) 1011,1013, 1021, and/or the third-party A/V recording and communicationdevice 1020. In addition, the location data 1110 may be used todetermine locations of the first client devices 1004, 1006, the secondclient devices 1014, 1016, and/or the third-party devices 1022, 1024. Insome embodiments, the share signal 1048 may include the location data1110 and a command to share the first image data 1060 with a network ofusers. In other embodiments, the crime report signal 1092 may includethe location data 1110 and a command to share the crime report signal1092 and/or information obtained from the crime report signal 1092 witha network of users.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 43-46, the various componentsincluding (but not limited to) the processing modules 1050, 1051, 1080,1100, the communication modules 1046, 1047, 1076, and the networkinterface 1119 are represented by separate boxes. The graphicalrepresentations depicted in each of FIGS. 43-46 are, however, merelyexamples, and are not intended to indicate that any of the variouscomponents of the first A/V recording and communication device 1002, thesecond camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021, the second A/V recording andcommunication device 1012, or the backend server 1030 are necessarilyphysically separate from one another, although in some embodiments theymight be. In other embodiments, however, the structure and/orfunctionality of any or all of the components of first A/V recording andcommunication device 1002 may be combined. In addition, in someembodiments the communication module 1046 may include its own processor,volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory. Likewise, the structureand/or functionality of any or all of the components of the secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may be combined. In addition, in someembodiments the communication module 1076 may include its own processor,volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory. Further, in someembodiments the structure and/or functionality of any or all of thecomponents of second A/V recording and communication device 1012 may becombined. In addition, in some embodiments the communication module 1047may include its own processor, volatile memory, and/or non-volatilememory. Further, the structure and/or functionality of any or all of thecomponents of the backend server 1030 may be combined. In addition, insome embodiments the network interface 1119 may include its ownprocessor, volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process 1300 forpowering up second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or a first camera 1041of a second A/V recording and communication device 1012 according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, thebackend server 1030 may receive a share signal 1048 from a first clientdevice 1004, 1006 that is associated with the first A/V recording andcommunication device 1002, as described above. In other embodiments, thebackend server 1030 may receive a crime report signal 1092 from variousdevices such as (but not limited to) a third-party device 1022, 1024, asdescribed above. As further described below, the backend server 1030 mayidentify and power up the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or thefirst camera 1041 of second A/V recording and communication device 1012using a power-up command signal 1114. The process 1300 may include thebackend server 1030 receiving (block B1302) a share signal 1048 and/or acrime report signal 1092 using the network interface 1119. In someembodiments, the share signal 1048 may include first image data 1060captured using a first camera 1040 of a first A/V recording andcommunication device 1002, and/or first audio data 1062 captured by amicrophone 1042 of the first A/V recording and communication device1002. Further, the share signal 1048 may also include text data 1064that describes the first image data 1060. In other embodiments, thecrime report signal 1092 may include image data, audio data, and/or textdata captured using a variety of devices such as (but not limited to)the third-party A/V recording and communication device 1020 and/orthird-party client devices 1022, 1024. Further, in some embodiments, theshare signal 1048 may include the first audio data 1062 and/or the textdata 1064 without the first image data 1060. Likewise, the crime reportsignal may include audio data and/or text data without image data. Inaddition, the share signal 1048 may also include a command to share thefirst image data 1060 (and/or the first audio data 1062 and/or the textdata 1064) with a network of users. Further, the crime report signal1092 may also include a command to share the crime report signal with anetwork of users. In various embodiments, the share signal 1048 and/orthe crime report signal 1092 may include location data 1110 that may beused to determine a geographic location, as further described below.

In further reference to FIG. 47, upon receiving the share signal 1048(block B1302), the process 1300 may also include generating (blockB1304) a power-up command signal 1114 based on the share signal 1048received from the first client device(s) 1004, 1006. In otherembodiments, upon receiving the crime report signal 1092, the server1030 may generate (block B1304) the power-up command signal 1114 basedon the crime report signal 1092. The process 1300 may further includeidentifying (block B1306) the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/orthe first camera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1012 to power up, as further described below. In someembodiments, the backend server 1030 may identify the second camera(s)1011, 1013, 1021 and or the first camera 1041 of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 to receive the power-up commandsignal 1114 based on the location of the first A/V recording andcommunication device 1002 associated with the first client device 1004,1006 and the defined areas, as described above (see FIG. 12). In otherembodiments, the backend server 1030 may identify the second camera(s)1011, 1013, 1021 and/or the first camera 1041 of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 to receive the power-up commandsignal 1114 using location data 1110, as further described below in FIG.48. In reference to FIG. 47, the process 1300 may also includetransmitting (block B1308) the power-up command signal 1114 using thenetwork interface 1119 to the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/orthe first camera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1012. In various embodiments, the power-up command signal 1114may configure second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 to power up from alow-power state and capture second image data 1090, as further describedbelow. In some embodiments, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 maycapture second image data 1090 for a predetermined length of time. Infurther embodiments, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may powerdown after capturing the second image data 1090 for the predeterminedlength of time. As described above, the second image data 1090 may becaptured at a second resolution and the first image data 1060 may becaptured at a first resolution, where the first resolution is higherthan the second resolution. In some embodiments, the power-up commandsignal 1114 may configure the first camera 1041 of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 to power up from a low-powerstate and capture first image data 1061, as further described below. Insome embodiments, the first camera 1041 may capture first image data1061 for a predetermined length of time. In further embodiments, thefirst camera 1041 may power down after capturing the first image data1061 for the predetermined length of time. In some embodiments, thefirst image data 1061 may be captured at a first resolution that isequal to the first resolution of the first image data 1061. In otherembodiments, the first image data 1061 may be captured at a secondresolution that is equal to the second resolution of the second imagedata 1090. However, in other embodiments, the first image data 1061 maybe captured at a resolution that is different from the first resolutionof the first image data 1060 and the second resolution of the secondimage data 1090.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process 1320 foridentifying (block B1306) the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/orthe first camera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1012 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, the process 1320 may include identifying (block B1322)a suspect in the first image data 1060 of the share signal 1048 and/oridentifying any person, object, and/or criminal act depicted in thefirst image data 1060. The process 1320 may also include determining(block B1324) a suspect location using the location data 1110 of theshare signal 1048. In alternative embodiments, the process 1320 mayinclude identifying (block B1322) any person, object, and/or criminalact depicted in the image, audio, and/or text data of the crime reportsignal 1092. Further, in alternative embodiments, the process 1320 mayinclude determining (block B1324) a crime location using the locationdata 1110 of the crime report signal 1092.

In reference to FIG. 48, the location data 1110 may provide a geographiclocation of the first A/V recording and communication device 1002 and/orthe first client devices 1004, 1006 associated with the share signal1048. In other embodiments, the location data 1110 may provide ageographic location of any device including (but not limited to) thethird-party A/V recording device 1020 and/or the third-party devices1022, 1024 associated with the crime report signal 1092. In someembodiments, the location data 1110 may be a geographic location that aperson may have indicated when transmitting the share signal 1048 and/orthe crime report signal 1092. For example, a user may input a geographiclocation using an input device such as (but not limited to) text and/orvoice inputs on a cellphone. In other embodiments, the location data1110 may include various metadata associated with the shared signal 1048and/or the crime report signal 1092 that allows the backend server 1030to determine a geographic location associated with the share signal 1048and/or the crime report signal 1092, respectively. In some embodiments,the backend server 1030 may analyze the image data of the shared signal1048 (block B1322) and/or the crime report signal 1092 to determine thesuspect location and/or crime location. For example, the backend server1030 may perform a computer vision (or similar) process to detect streetsigns, addresses, landmarks, and/or any other identifying data todetermine (block B1324) the suspect location and/or the crime locationassociated with the share signal 1048 and/or the crime report signal1092, respectively.

In further reference to FIG. 48, the process 1320 may further includeidentifying (block B1326) the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/orfirst camera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communication device1012 to power up based on a predetermined distance from the suspectand/or crime location determined (block B1324) based on the share signal1048 and/or the crime report signal 1092, respectively. For example,once a suspect and/or crime location has been determined (block B1324),second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 that are located within apredetermined radius of the suspect and/or crime location may beidentified (block B1326) to receive the power-up command signal 1114from the backend server 1030. In some embodiments, once a suspect and/orcrime location has been determined (block B1324), A/V recording andcommunication devices such as (but not limited to) the second A/Vrecording and communication camera 1012 that are located with apredetermined radius of the suspect and/or crime location may beidentified (block B1326) to receive the power-up command signal 1114from the backend server 1030. As described further below, the secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or the first camera 1041 of the secondA/V recording and communication device 1012 may be configured by thepower-up command signal 1114 to power up and capture second image data1090 and/or first image data 1061, respectively.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process 1340 forpowering up the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 and/or the firstcamera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communication device 1012according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process 1340may include maintaining (block B1342) the second camera(s) 1011, 1013,1021 and/or the first camera 1041 of the second A/V recording andcommunication device 1012 in a low-power state. The process 1340 mayalso include receiving (block B1344) a power-up command signal 1114 fromthe backend server 1030 at the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 usingthe communication module 1076 and/or at the second A/V recording andcommunication device 1012 using the communication module 1047. In someembodiments, the process 1340 may include powering up (block B1346) thesecond camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 from the low-power state to capture(block B1348) second image data 1090. In other embodiments, the process1340 may include powering up (block B1346) the first camera 1041 of thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1012 from the low-powerstate to capture (block B1348) first image data 1061. In variousembodiments, the power-up command signal 1114 may include instructionsthat configure the processor 1082 to power up (block B1346) the secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 from the low-power state to capture (blockB1348) the second image data 1090. Likewise, the power-up command signal1114 may include instructions that configure the processor 1053 to powerup (block B1346) the first camera 1041 from the low-power state tocapture (block B1348) the first image data 1061. After capturing thesecond image data 1090, the process 1340 may also include the secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 transmitting (block B1350) the second imagedata 1090 to the backend server 1030 using the communication module1076. In some embodiments, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 maygenerate an output signal 1094 that includes the second image data 1090and transmit (block B1350) the output signal 1094 to the backend server1030 using the communication module 1076. In other embodiments, aftercapturing the first image data 1061, the process 1340 may also includethe second A/V recording and communication device 1012 transmitting(block B1350) the first image data 1061 to the backend server 1030 usingthe communication module 1047. In some embodiments, the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 may generate an output signal1065 that includes the first image data 1061 and transmit (block B1350)the output signal 1065 to the backend server 1030 using thecommunication module 1047.

FIG. 50 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor powering up second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 based on a sharesignal 1048 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Theprocess may include first client device(s) 1004, 1006, a backend devicesuch as the backend server 1030, and one or more second cameras 1011,1013, 1021. At a time T1, the first client device(s) 1004, 1006 maytransmit a share signal 1048 to the backend server 1030, as describedabove. In response to receiving the share signal 1048, the backendserver 1030 may generate a power-up command signal 1114 and identify thesecond camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 to receive the power-up command signal1114 using location data 1110 of the share signal 1048, as describedabove. In various embodiments, the backend server 1030 may transmit thepower-up command signal 1114 to the second cameras 1011, 1013, 1021 at atime T2. Upon receiving the power-up command signal, the secondcamera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may power up from a low-power state andcapture second image data 1090, as described above. At a time T3, thesecond camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may transmit the second image data1090 to the backend server 1030 using the communication module 1076.

FIG. 51 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor powering up first cameras of A/V recording and communication devicessuch as (but not limited to) the first camera 1041 of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 based on a share signal 1048according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process mayinclude first client device(s) 1004, 1006, a backend device such as thebackend server 1030, and the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1012. At a time T1, the first client device(s) 1004, 1006 maytransmit a share signal 1048 to the backend server 1030, as describedabove. In response to receiving the share signal 1048, the backendserver 1030 may generate a power-up command signal 1114 and identify thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1012 to receive thepower-up command signal 1114 using location data 1110 of the sharesignal 1048, as described above. In various embodiments, the backendserver 1030 may transmit the power-up command signal 1114 to the secondA/V recording and communication device 1012 at a time T2. Upon receivingthe power-up command signal, the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1012 may power up the first camera 1041 from a low-power stateand capture first image data 1061, as described above. At a time T3, thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1012 may transmit thefirst image data 1061 to the backend server 1030 using the communicationmodule 1047.

FIG. 52 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor powering up second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 based on a crimereport signal 1092 according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The process may include third-party client device(s) 1022,1024, a backend device such as the backend server 1030, and one or moresecond cameras 1011, 1013, 1021. At a time T1, the third-party clientdevice(s) 1022, 1024 may transmit a share signal 1048 to the backendserver 1030, as described above. In response to receiving the sharesignal 1048, the backend server 1030 may generate a power-up commandsignal 1114 and identify the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 toreceive the power-up command signal 1114 using location data 1110 of thecrime report signal 1092, as described above. In various embodiments,the backend server 1030 may transmit the power-up command signal 1114 tothe second cameras 1011, 1013, 1021 at a time T2. Upon receiving thepower-up command signal, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 may powerup from a low-power state and capture second image data 1090, asdescribed above. At a time T3, the second camera(s) 1011, 1013, 1021 maytransmit the second image data 1090 to the backend server 1030 using thecommunication module 1076.

FIG. 53 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor powering up first cameras 1040, 1041 of various A/V recording andcommunication devices 1001, 1012 such as (but not limited to) the firstcamera 1041 of the second A/V recording and communication device 1012based on a crime report signal 1092 according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. The process may include third-party device(s) 1022,1024, a backend device such as the backend server 1030, and the secondA/V recording and communication device 1012. At a time T1, thethird-party client device(s) 1022, 1024 may transmit a crime reportsignal 1092 to the backend server 1030, as described above. In responseto receiving the crime report signal 1092, the backend server 1030 maygenerate a power-up command signal 1114 and identify the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 to receive the power-up commandsignal 1114 using location data 1110 of the crime report signal 1092, asdescribed above. In various embodiments, the backend server 1030 maytransmit the power-up command signal 1114 to the second A/V recordingand communication device 1012 at a time T2. Upon receiving the power-upcommand signal, the second A/V recording and communication device 1012may power up the first camera 1041 from a low-power state and capturefirst image data 1061, as described above. At a time T3, the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1012 may transmit the first imagedata 1061 to the backend server 1030 using the communication module1047.

FIG. 54 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network using various signals. In some embodiments,share signals and/or crime report signals may be used to power upvarious cameras in network communication with backend devices accordingto various aspects of the present disclosure, as described below. Insome embodiments, first client device(s) 1202, 1204 may transmit a sharesignal 1048 to backend devices for powering up second camera(s) 1211,1213, 1221, and/or a first camera of a second A/V recording andcommunication device 1212, as described above. In other embodiments, anydevice such as (but not limited to) law enforcement device(s) 1232, 1234and/or third-party client device(s) 1222, 1224 may transmit a crimereport signal 1092 to the backend devices for powering up the secondcamera(s) 1211, 1213, 1221, and/or the first camera of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1212, as described above. Further, insome embodiments, any device, may transmit various signals that mayinclude various data including (but not limited to) image data, audiodata, and/or text data to the backend devices that may power up one ormore cameras within a network of users.

In reference to FIG. 54, the system 1200 may include one or more firstaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices 1202 configured toaccess a user's network 1208 to connect to a network (Internet/PSTN)1210. The system 1200 may also include one or more first client devices1204, 1206, which in various embodiments may be configured to be innetwork communication with the first A/V recording and communicationdevice 1202. The first client devices 1204, 1206 may comprise, forexample, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or a computing device suchas a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. Thefirst client devices 1204, 1206 may include any or all of the componentsand/or functionality of the client device 114 and/or the client device850 described herein. In some embodiments, the first client devices1204, 1206 may not be associated with a first A/V recording andcommunication device, as described below.

In various embodiments, the system 1200 may also include one or moresecond A/V recording and communication devices 1212 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 1210 using various networks such as acellular/mobile network 1218, a local network, a wireless network suchas a Wi-Fi network, a public network, a low-bandwidth network, and/orany other appropriate network to access the network (Internet/PSTN)1210. The system 1200 may further include one or more second clientdevices 1214, 1216, which in various embodiments may be configured to bein network communication with the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1212. The second client devices 1214, 1216 may comprise, forexample, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or a computing device suchas a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. Thesecond client devices 1214, 1216 may include any or all of thecomponents and/or functionality of the client device 114 and/or theclient device 850 described herein. In some embodiments, the secondclient devices 1214, 1216 may not be associated with a second A/Vrecording and communication device, as described below. The system 1200may also include one or more second cameras 1211 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PTSN) 1210 using the second user's network 1218. Theone or more second cameras 1211 may also be configured to be in networkcommunication with the second client devices 1214, 1216 and/or thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1212. In some embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1211 and a first camera of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 1212 may be configured to power upand capture image data based on a shared signal, as further describedabove. In other embodiments, the second camera 1211 and/or the firstcamera of the second A/V recording and communication device 1212 may beconfigured to power up and capture image data based on a crime reportsignal from any device in network communication with a backend server1240 such as (but not limited to) third-party client devices 1222, 1224,and/or various other devices, as further described above.

In some embodiments, the system 1200 may also include one or morethird-party A/V recording and communication devices 1220 connected tothe network (Internet/PSTN) 1210 using various third-party networks 1226such as a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobilenetwork and/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernetnetwork, a public network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any otherappropriate network to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210. Thesystem 1200 may further include one or more third-party client devices1222, 1226, which in various embodiments may be configured to be innetwork communication with the third-party A/V recording andcommunication device 1220. The third-party client devices 1222, 1226 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The third-party client devices 1222, 1226 may include anyor all of the components and/or functionality of the client device 114and/or the client device 850 described herein. In some embodiments, thethird-party client devices 1222, 1226 may not be associated with athird-party A/V recording and communication device, as described below.The system 1200 may also include one or more second cameras 1221connected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210 using the variousthird-party networks 1226. The one or more second cameras 1221 may alsobe configured to be in network communication with the third clientdevices 1222, 1224 and/or the third A/V recording and communicationdevice 1220. In many embodiments, the one or more second cameras 1221and/or a first camera of the third-party A/V recording and communication1220 may be configured to power up and capture image data based on theshare signal from the first client device(s) 1204, 1206, as furtherdescribed above In other embodiments, the one or more second cameras1221 and the first camera of the third-party A/V recording andcommunication device 1220 may be configured to power up and captureimage data based on the crime report signal from any device in networkcommunication with a backend server 1240 such as (but not limited to)law enforcement client devices 1232, 1234, and/or various user devices,as further described below.

In some embodiments, the system 1200 may also include one or more secondcameras 1213 connected to the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210 using variousaccess points such as (but not limited to) a cellular/mobile network1219, a local network, a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi network, apublic network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any other appropriatenetwork to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210. In some embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1213 may be configured to be part of alocal network and associated with one or more client devices and/or oneor more A/V recording and communication devices. In many embodiments,the one or more second cameras 1213, associated devices, and A/Vrecording and communication devices may be controlled by anadministrator.

With further reference to FIG. 54, the system 1200 may also include lawenforcement A/V recording and communication devices 1228, 1230 connectedto the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210 using a law enforcement network 1236such as a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobilenetwork and/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernetnetwork, a public network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any otherappropriate network to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 1210. Inaddition, the law enforcement A/V recording and communication devices1228, 1230 may be configured to capture image data, audio data, and/ortext data and be associated with law enforcement client devices 1232,1234. In the illustrated embodiment, the law enforcement A/V recordingand communication devices include a body camera 1228 and a dashboardcamera 1230, but the illustrated devices are only examples and are notlimiting.

In further reference to FIG. 54, the system 1200 may also includevarious backend devices such as (but not limited to) storage devices1242, backend servers 1240, and backend APIs 1238 in networkcommunication with the law enforcement A/V recording and communicationdevices 1228, 1230, the first and second A/V recording and communicationdevices 1202, 1212, the third-party A/V recording and communicationdevices 1220, and the one or more second cameras 1211, 1213, 1221.Further, the various backend devices 1238, 1240, 1242 may be in networkcommunication with the law enforcement client devices 1232, 1234, thefirst client devices 1204, 1206, the second client devices 1214, 1216,and the third-party client devices 1222, 1224. In some embodiments, thestorage devices 1242 may be a separate device from the backend servers1240 (as illustrated) or may be an integral component of the backendservers 1240. In addition, the user's network 1208 and the network 1210may be similar in structure and/or function to the user's network 1008and the network 1010 (FIG. 47), respectively. As described above, thebackend devices such as the backend servers 1240 may be configured toreceive a share signal from the first client devices 1204, 1206 to powerup the second camera(s) 1211, 1213, 1221 and/or a first camera of thesecond A/V recording and communication device 1212. Further, the backenddevices such as the backend servers 1240 may be configured to receive acrime report signal from the any device including (but not limited to)the third-party client devices 1222, 1224 and/or the law enforcementclient devices 1232, 1234 to power up the second camera(s) 1211, 1213,1221 and/or a first camera of the second A/V recording and communicationdevice 1212, as described above. Further, the backend devices such asthe backend servers 1240 may also be configured to receive varioussignals from any A/V recording and communication device, such as thethird-party A/V recording and communication device 1220 and/or the lawenforcement A/V recording and communication devices 1228, 1230, forpower up cameras using the processes described above. In addition, thebackend devices such as the backend server 1240 may receive the varioussignals from third-party client devices 1222, 1224, and law enforcementclient devices 1232, 1234 for power up cameras using the processesdescribed above. In some embodiments, the backend devices such as thebackend server 1240 may receive the various signals from third-partysocial networks that may include any social media service or platformthat uses computer-mediated tools that allow participants to create,share, and/or exchange information in virtual communities and/ornetworks, such as (but not limited to) social networking websites and/orapplications running on participant devices. Non-limiting examples ofsocial networks include NEXTDOOR®, FACEBOOK®, INSTAGRAM®, SNAPCHAT®,TWITTER®, etc. In some embodiments, the backend devices such as thebackend server 1240 may receive the various signals from third parties,such as the general public, where a member of the public may transmit asignal that includes information about an event that the member of thepublic witnessed, such as (but not limited to) a possible crime usingtheir third-party device 1222, such as, but not limited to, asmartphone, where the signal transmitted by the member of the public mayinclude image data, audio data, and/or text data.

As described above, one aspect of the present embodiments includes therealization that a person and/or an object of interest is typically notstationary. For example, when an A/V recording and communication devicerecords video footage of suspicious and/or criminal activity, thesuspect in the video footage is likely to be moving. The sharing of suchvideo footage may alert neighbors to the potential dangers, particularlybecause the suspect may still be in the vicinity (e.g., theneighborhood). It would be advantageous then to enhance thefunctionality of A/V recording and communication devices by using sharedvideo footage to identify one or more cameras to power up and recordadditional video footage. For example, a neighborhood may includemultiple camera devices such as (but not limited to) first cameras andsecond cameras of various A/V recording and communication devices, andone or more of the second cameras may be configured to power up andcapture additional image data (and, in some embodiments, audio data)based on shared video footage from a first camera. Further, thefunctionality of A/V recording and communication devices may be enhancedby using any report of a crime from any source to power up one or morecameras to capture image and/or audio data. Still further, thefunctionality of the A/V recording and communication devices can beenhanced so that, upon receipt of a “neighborhood alert” signal, thecameras of all such devices within a neighborhood (or another determinedarea) are powered up to capture additional image data (and in someembodiments, audio data) that may be useful for tracking a suspect'smovements, recording the actions or presence of accomplices, and/orrecording other images that might warn residents or help to solve acrime being perpetrated. Moreover, the present embodiments improve uponand solve the problem of resource management by using a power-up commandsignal to configure the one or more cameras to switch from a low-powerstate to a powered-on state, thereby conserving power. The presentembodiments provide these advantages, as described below.

FIG. 55 illustrates a method 5500 for a neighborhood security system inwhich all cameras within a neighborhood are activated upon receipt of aneighborhood alert mode signal, in accordance with certain aspects ofthe present embodiments. Such a signal might be sent, for example, whena threat to the neighborhood has been identified, such as when anescaped prisoner is at large in the area or when a criminal suspect isfleeing. In other examples, such a signal might be sent during awide-scale emergency impacting an entire neighborhood, such as a riot, awildfire, an earthquake, a flood, etc. In one embodiment, theneighborhood security system includes a plurality of camera deviceslocated within a neighborhood such as those illustrated in FIG. 12, anda backend processing system in network communication with the pluralityof camera devices. In turn, the backend processing system is in networkcommunication with at least a first client device, and the first clientdevice is associated with a first one of the plurality of cameradevices.

At block B5502, the method 5500 includes receiving, at the backendsystem, a neighborhood alert mode signal from the first client device.At block B5504, upon receipt of the neighborhood alert mode, the method5500 includes, transmitting, from the backend system to the plurality ofcamera devices, an activation signal. At block B5506, the activationsignal is received by the plurality of camera devices, and theactivation signal includes a command for each of the plurality of cameradevices to record image data. At block B5508, each of the plurality ofcamera devices begins recording image data. In certain embodiments, thisrecording occurs for a predetermined amount of time. At block B5510, themethod 5500 further includes transmitting the recorded image data fromthe plurality of cameras to the backend system. At block B5512, themethod 5500 further includes receiving, at the backend system, the imagedata from each of the plurality of camera devices. In this way, if afirst user sees or is alerted to behavior that is suspicious or anoutright emergency, the user may not only send an alert to all of theother users in the neighborhood, the first user may actually cause allof the other A/V recording and communication devices in the neighborhoodto activate their cameras and begin recording image and/or audio datafor the benefit of all of the users in the neighborhood, or perhaps, forlater analysis by law enforcement.

In some embodiments of the method 5500, the neighborhood comprises acircular area defined by a predetermined radius extending outwardly fromthe first camera device. Alternatively, the neighborhood may be definedby various other methods, such as by a particular city block, a similarstreet address, an entire suburban subdivision, an apartment complex, aneighborhood watch patrol area, a defined law-enforcement patrol area, ahigh school campus, a college campus, a zip code, some otherpre-selected area or map coordinates, or a user-defined area created bythe user's selection of an area on a map using a pointing device ortouchscreen.

In some embodiments, at least some of the plurality of camera devicesare owned by individual users. However, in other embodiments, at leastsome of the plurality of camera devices are owned by a group of users,such as a neighborhood watch association. Cameras may be located oneither public or private property.

In certain embodiments of the process, as shown in FIG. 55, the method5500 further includes, at block B5501, prior to receiving theneighborhood alert mode signal from the first client device, receivingan opt-in signal from each of a plurality of second client devices,where each of the second client devices is associated with one of theplurality of camera devices other than the first camera device. In suchembodiments, the cameras that are subject to being turned on during aneighborhood alert are only those cameras that have been specificallyopted-in to the neighborhood security system.

In certain other embodiments, the backend system may be used to analyzethe image data and then to report on and attempt to ameliorate anythreats posed to the neighborhood. This analysis may include usingcomputer vision analysis to identify and assess threats in the imagedata. Such methods may include, or be similar to, the various methods ofthreat analysis using computer vision described and claimed in U.S.Provisional Patent Applications 62/464,342, filed on Feb. 27, 2017;62/517,416, filed on Jun. 9, 2017; and 62/563,915, filed on Sep. 27,2017, which are all incorporated by reference herein in their entiretiesas if set forth. Such backend computer vision analysis may includedetermining whether any identified threats are moving within theneighborhood, determining a location of the threat, and/or determining adirection of movement for the threat. The method may further include, atblock B5514, transmitting to law enforcement an identification of thethreat, the location of the threat, and/or the direction of movement ofthe threat.

As described above, another aspect of the present embodiments includesthe realization that, when users install multiple A/V recording andcommunication devices at a single property, and such devices each recordimage data of a source of motion moving around the property, e.g.,moving from the field of view of a first camera and into the field ofview of a second camera, the user may desire to view such image data asa linked or unified whole, rather than as separate images or separateimage files or video clips. The present embodiments provide for “cameraevent stitching” to create either a continuous video, or a series of“storyboard” images, for activity taking place across the fields of viewof multiple cameras, within a predetermined time period. This aspect ofthe present embodiments provides the advantages of user convenience inviewing recorded image data, as well as coherence in understanding thetiming and sequence of the recorded images.

FIG. 56 illustrates a method 5600 for a multi-camera video securitysystem installed at a property, by which recorded image data frommultiple cameras is linked or stitched together to provide the user witha chronological and continuous video of activity that occurred acrossmultiple cameras, or a chronological series of images representative ofactivity that occurred across multiple cameras in a “storyboard” format.For ease of reference, all embodiments of this concept are hereinafterreferred to as “camera event stitching.” The method 5600 is describedbelow with reference to FIG. 57, which illustrates an overhead view of aproperty, as shown on a screen of a user's client device, running asoftware app.

As shown in FIG. 57, the property 5702 is a residence, and includes adriveway 5704, a front sidewalk 5706, and a walkway 5708 approaching afront door 5710. In an example embodiment, the video security systemincludes a first camera 5712 installed at a first location at theproperty and a second camera 5714 installed at a second location at theproperty, as shown in FIG. 57. The multi-camera video security system isassociated with a client device, which is capable of receiving imagedata from the cameras 5712, 5714. At block B5602, the method 5600includes receiving first image data from the first camera 5712 of asource of motion that is within a field of view of the first camera5712, and associating this first image data with a first time stampindicating the time when the first image data was recorded. At blockB5604, the method 5600 includes receiving second image data from thesecond camera 5714 of a source of motion that is within a field of viewof the second camera 5714, and associating this second image data with asecond time stamp indicating the time when the second image data wasrecorded. At block B5606, the method 5600 includes determining whetherthe second time stamp is within a predetermined amount of time after thefirst time stamp. At block B5608, when the second time stamp is withinthe predetermined amount of time after the first time stamp, the method5600 includes creating composite image data comprising the first imagedata followed by the second image data. At block B5610, if the secondtime stamp is not within the predetermined amount of time, the imagedata is processed as otherwise discussed herein. At block B5612, if acomposite image is created, the method 5600 includes transmitting thecomposite image data to the client device.

FIGS. 58-65 illustrate example embodiments of the image data andcomposite image data generated by an embodiment of the camera eventstitching process. In FIG. 58, the first camera 5712 records an image5800 of a residential driveway, but no persons. In FIG. 59, a person5900 has entered the field of view of the first camera 5712. In FIG. 60,the person 5900 has approached the driver's side window of a car 6000parked in the driveway. In FIG. 61, the person 5900 has approached thefront of the parked car 6000 and appears to be peering into thewindshield. In FIG. 62, the person 5900 has moved around the parked car6000 and is moving around the front of the residence 6200. In certainembodiments, to be further discussed below, elements of the securitysystem anticipate that, from the direction of motion of the person, thatthe person is moving toward the second camera 5714, and thereforeactivates recording of the second camera 5714. In FIG. 63, the secondcamera 5714 records an image of the walkway 6300 to the front door 6302of the residence 6200, as well as a portion of the side yard 6304 of theresidence 6200. In FIG. 64, the person 5900 has entered the field ofview of the second camera 5714. In FIG. 65, the person 5900 hascontinued up the walkway 6300 and appears to be peering at something inthe side yard 6304 of the residence, just out of view of the secondcamera 5714. In certain embodiments of the present method, the images ofFIGS. 58-65 (and/or the videos in which the images are contained) arelinked together as a single composite image file and/or video file, andtransmitted to the user's client device, so that the user may view thecomposite image/video file as a “storyboard” (or as a single continuousvideo) showing the person 5900's transit from the field of view of thefirst camera 5712, to and through the field of view of the second camera5714. In some embodiments, additional images and/or video footage may beincluded in the composite image/video file, where the additional imagesand/or video footage show activity occurring before and/or after theimages/video that show the person 5900.

In an embodiment of the camera event stitching process, thepredetermined amount of time (block B5606) may be 5 seconds, or 10seconds, or 15 seconds, or 30 seconds, or one minute, or 90 seconds, ortwo minutes, or three minutes, or any other length of time. In anotherembodiment, the predetermined amount of time may depend upon a distancebetween the first camera 5712 and the second camera 5714, where theamount of time may increase as the distance between the first camera5712 and the second camera 5714 increases, and vice versa. In variousembodiments, the predetermined amount of time may be increased anddecreased manually by the user and/or by an automated process. Thisability to adjust the predetermined amount of time thereby accounts forthe possibility that different user configurations and arrangements ofthe first and second cameras may have different distances between them,e.g., different distances between a driveway camera and a front doorcamera.

In another embodiment, the first image data and the second image datamay be received at a backend system in network communication with thefirst camera 5712 and the second camera 5714. In such an embodiment,certain processing, including but not limited to the creation of thecomposite image data, may be performed by the backend system.

In another embodiment, the first image data and the second image datamay be received at a smart home hub located at the property and innetwork communication with the first camera 5712 and the second camera5714. In such an embodiment, certain processing, including but notlimited to the creation of the composite image data, may be performed bythe smart home hub. In various embodiments, the smart home hub may be atleast one of a home automation hub and a premises security hub.

As described above, another aspect of the present embodiments includesthe realization that, at a single property, a user may install multipleA/V recording and communication devices, and may wish to have themcommunicatively linked together so that, if one such device sensesmotion and records image data of a source of motion that is movingtoward a second such device, the second device is alerted or activatedto “track” the source of the motion from the field of view of the firstdevice to the field of view of the second device. In this way, thesecurity of the property and residents will be enhanced and a betterrecording of the source of motion may be available for use by the userand/or law enforcement authorities.

FIG. 66 illustrates a method 6600 for a multi-camera video securitysystem installed at a property, according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In the method 6600, the multi-camera video securitysystem may record image(s) of a source of motion, e.g., a person or anobject moving across the field of view of the first camera, and thenanticipate the direction of motion of the source of motion, e.g., thedirection in which a suspect person is moving, and thereby activate asecond camera toward which the person is moving, even before the personenters the field of view of the second camera and/or before the motionof the person is sensed by a motion sensor of the second camera.Throughout this application, embodiments of such a method are generallyreferred to as “multi-camera motion tracking.”

In an example embodiment, multi-camera motion tracking is accomplishedusing a video security system installed at a property, the videosecurity system comprising a first security device having a first camerainstalled at a first location at the property and a second securitydevice having a second camera installed at a second location at theproperty, such as that shown in FIG. 62. Referring again to FIG. 66, atblock B6602, the method 6600 includes receiving first image data fromthe first camera 5712 of a source of motion that is within a field ofview of the first camera 5712. At block B6604, the method 6600 includesanalyzing the first image data to determine whether the source of motionis moving toward the second camera 5714 installed at the secondlocation. At block B6606, the method 6600 includes, upon determiningthat the source of motion is moving toward the second camera 5714installed at the second location, sending a recording activation signalto the second camera 5714. At block B6608, the method 6600 includes,upon receiving the recording activation signal, the second camera 5714beginning to record second image data.

In one embodiment, the first image data may be received by a processorof the first security device and processed to determine a direction ofmotion using computer vision (or similar) analysis. In anotherembodiment, the first image data may be received by a smart home hub innetwork communication with the first security device, and the firstimage data may be processed by the smart home hub to determine thedirection of motion. In yet another embodiment, the first image data maybe received by a backend server in network communication with the firstsecurity device for processing and analysis and determination of thedirection of motion. In another embodiment, the first image data may beprocessed by a combination of two or more of the first security device,the smart home hub, and the backend server. In each embodiment, thevideo is associated with a user's client device and image data may betransmitted to the user's client device for either contemporaneous orlater viewing.

In certain embodiments, prior to execution of the multi-camera motiontracking method 6600 illustrated in FIG. 66, the user may be requestedto provide certain inputs to configure the system, including but notlimited to identifying the relative locations of various cameras withrespect to one another. In one embodiment, the method further comprisesreceiving an indication from the client device that the first securitydevice has been installed at the first location and then receiving anindication from the client device that the second security device hasbeen installed at a second location.

This configuration process may be accomplished in a number of ways. Inone embodiment, a software application (“app”) running on the user'sclient device presents an overhead view, or map view of the propertywhere the first and second security devices will be installed. This viewmay appear similar to the view provided in FIG. 62. In some embodiments,the map may be obtained from a third-party source (e.g., Google Maps),and in other embodiments the user may be prompted to draw the map. Theuser may then indicate, using a pointing device, a touchscreen, or othermanner, the locations where the user has installed each of the first andsecond security devices. The user may also be prompted to indicate whichdirection each security device faces, or to provide other informationabout the orientation of each device.

In various embodiments, the analysis of the source of motion and itsdirection may be conducted by the processor of the first securitydevice, the backend system, or a smart home hub. From this analysis, therecording activation signal may be sent to the second security devicefrom the first security device, the backend system, or a smart home hub,respectively.

As described above, the present embodiments advantageously provide foran improved way to record video of events occurring throughout aneighborhood during a neighborhood-wide emergency, provide for animproved approach to motion tracking using multiple cameras located at aresidence, and provide an improved way to view images captured bymultiple cameras located at a residence when those images are all takenwithin a predetermined period of time.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, and/or in computerhardware, firmware, software, and/or in combinations thereof. Featuresof the present embodiments may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as amachine-readable storage device, and/or in a propagated signal, forexecution by a programmable processor. Embodiments of the present methodsteps may be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the described implementations byoperating on input data and generating output.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and/or instructions from, and to transmit dataand/or instructions to, a data storage system, at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. A computer program may include aset of instructions that may be used, directly or indirectly, in acomputer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result.A computer program may be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions mayinclude, for example, both general and special purpose processors,and/or the sole processor or one of multiple processors of any kind ofcomputer. Generally, a processor may receive instructions and/or datafrom a read only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), or both.Such a computer may include a processor for executing instructions andone or more memories for storing instructions and/or data.

Generally, a computer may also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand/or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and/or optical disks.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and/or data may include all forms of non-volatile memory,including for example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, orincorporated in, one or more ASICs (application-specifc integratedcircuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features of the presentembodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device,such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displayinginformation to the user. The computer may further include a keyboard, apointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, and/or a touchscreen bywhich the user may provide input to the computer.

The features of the present embodiments may be implemented in a computersystem that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, and/orthat includes a middleware component, such as an application server oran Internet server, and/or that includes a front-end component, such asa client computer having a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or anInternet browser, or any combination of these. The components of thesystem may be connected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, such as a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks may include, for example, a LAN (local areanetwork), a WAN (wide area network), and/or the computers and networksforming the Internet.

The computer system may include clients and servers. A client and servermay be remote from each other and interact through a network, such asthose described herein. The relationship of client and server may ariseby virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carryingout the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicingthem, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable anyperson skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice theseembodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible tomodifications and alternate constructions from those discussed abovethat are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, thepresent invention covers all modifications and alternate constructionscoming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the steps in the processes described herein need not beperformed in the same order as they have been presented, and may beperformed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented asbeing performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performedconcurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as beingperformed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performedseparately.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for a video security system installed ata property, the video security system comprising a first camerainstalled at a first location at the property and a second camerainstalled at a second location at the property, wherein the videosecurity system is associated with a client device, the methodcomprising: receiving first image data from the first camera of a firstsource of motion that is within a field of view of the first camera,wherein the first image data is associated with a first time stampindicating the time when the first image data was recorded; receivingsecond image data from the second camera of a second source of motionthat is within a field of view of the second camera, wherein the secondimage data is associated with a second time stamp indicating the timewhen the second image data was recorded; determining whether the secondtime stamp is within a predetermined amount of time after the first timestamp; when the second time stamp is within the predetermined amount oftime after the first time stamp, creating composite image datacomprising the first image data followed by the second image data; andtransmitting the composite image data to the client device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount of time is threeminutes.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount oftime depends on a distance between the first camera and the secondcamera.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount oftime increases when the distance between the first camera and the secondcamera increases, and wherein the predetermined amount of time decreaseswhen the distance between the first camera and the second cameradecreases.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first image data andthe second image data are received at a backend system in networkcommunication with the first camera and the second camera.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first image data and the second image data arereceived at a smart home hub located at the property and in networkcommunication with the first camera and the second camera.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the predetermined amount of time can be set by auser.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the predetermined amount of timecan be set by a user by selecting a predetermined amount of time from aplurality of selectable predetermined times presented at a userinterface on the client device.
 9. An camera event stitched image filecreated by a video security system installed at a property, the videosecurity system comprising a first camera installed at a first locationat the property and a second camera installed at a second location atthe property, wherein the video security system is associated with aclient device, using a method comprising: receiving first image datafrom the first camera of a first source of motion that is within a fieldof view of the first camera, wherein the first image data is associatedwith a first time stamp indicating the time when the first image datawas recorded; receiving second image data from the second camera of asecond source of motion that is within a field of view of the secondcamera, wherein the second image data is associated with a second timestamp indicating the time when the second image data was recorded;determining whether the second time stamp is within a predeterminedamount of time after the first time stamp; and when the second timestamp is within the predetermined amount of time after the first timestamp, creating composite image data comprising the first image datafollowed by the second image data.
 10. The camera event stitched imagefile of claim 9, wherein the predetermined amount of time is threeminutes.
 11. The camera event stitched image file of claim 9, whereinthe predetermined amount of time depends on a distance between the firstcamera and the second camera.
 12. The camera event stitched image fileof claim 9, wherein the predetermined amount of time increases when thedistance between the first camera and the second camera increases, andwherein the predetermined amount of time decreases when the distancebetween the first camera and the second camera decreases.
 13. The cameraevent stitched image file of claim 9, wherein the first image data andthe second image data are received at a backend system in networkcommunication with the first camera and the second camera.
 14. Thecamera event stitched image file of claim 9, wherein the first imagedata and the second image data are received at a smart home hub locatedat the property and in network communication with the first camera andthe second camera.
 15. The camera event stitched image file of claim 9,wherein the predetermined amount of time can be set by a user.
 16. Thecamera event stitched image file of claim 15, wherein the predeterminedamount of time can be set by a user by selecting a predetermined amountof time from a plurality of selectable predetermined times presented ata user interface on the client device.
 17. The camera event stitchedimage file of claim 9, wherein the composite image is video.
 18. Thecamera event stitched image file of claim 17, wherein the compositeimage is at least two video clips configured to run as a single video onthe client device.
 19. The camera event stitched image file of claim 9,wherein the composite image is a series of still images.
 20. The camerastitched image file of claim 19, wherein the composite image is a seriesof still images configured to be presented as a continuous slide show onthe client device.